Real Lions Like The Hunt
by latency148
Summary: Dishonored. Wanted dead by half the world. Accused of a crime he didn't commit. An entire war started to bring him to justice, all the while he searches for his own. This is the story of Percy Jackson. A story written in blood. (Rated T but be warned, there is language, violence, and some sexual themes. Nothing better, right?).
1. Chapter 1

Sweat trickled down his bare chest. Percy swung his right arm forward with a grunt. Riptide made impact with the straw dummy, slashing another gash in a chest already riddled with them. Percy took a step back, dodged to the right, and then stabbed the sword forward, landing a hit right in the throat of the straw man. Percy spun and ducked, dodging an invisible blade. He then slashed the straw man's legs as he spun towards him. Percy then stood to full height quickly and slashed again, letting out a war cry as he hacked away at the straw man. After a few more slashes he stopped, panting and covered in sweat. He moved his long black hair from in front of his green eyes to see the straw man leaking his guts across the cobblestone floor.

Percy turned to look around the rest of the dungeon. There were about five other demigods, four of them male. They hacked away at straw men of their own. All the other demigods were filled with rage like Percy. All of them were dishonored like he was.

Percy sheathed Riptide until it was a mere ballpoint pen, and placed it in his black Nike athletic shorts pocket. He turned around and scanned the room. It was underground, about 20 feet so. It was curved, as it was a section of an entire underground circle. Along the room ran a stone wall with a few open doorways that also curved. He walked through one of these doorways into the sleeping quarters of the combatants. It wasn't anything special: piles of straw along with straw stuffed pillows made up their beds. Straw was a common theme in the underbelly of the Ring. It was everywhere.

Percy sighed and laid down on his bed. The straw was cold. The entire area didn't have electricity. The only sources of light were torches mounted on the mossy stone walls. In the low light he saw a few other demigods asleep on their pathetic beds as well. Percy closed his eyes and tried to get some rest.

As soon as he closed his eyes he heard a roar of a crowd coming from above ground. He heard cheers and jests, and heard dramachas hitting the Earth.

 _Another one dead._

Percy got up, groaning as he stood. His lower back was killing for some reason. He walked through the doorway into the training area to see if his team had been the ones to suffer the defeat. Sure enough, two guards came down the ramp leading to the Ring about 30 feet away dragging a lifeless corpse. It was that of a male demigod, 16 years old. Two years younger than Percy. They dragged him passed the training area and through a dark doorway. The other combatants didn't even bat an eye. There was a streak of blood from where the body had been dragged.

"Overzealous, that one. That'll be you too maggot if you don't put your work in" a male voice said from behind Percy. Percy spun around to see the Onyx team captain, Nazir. He was an older man, in his late forties from what Percy could tell. He had a thin scraggly white beard and many scars on his face. His chocolate brown eyes looked tired, and he had crows feet surrounding them. Nazir wore simple brown leather armour, with what appeared to be a crude image of a lion stitched into the chestpiece. He had an onyx belt with a silver steel shortsword attached to it. He was an intimidating man. He stood six feet two inches tall, and had a great body for his age. He had seen many kids die.

"I've seen worse things than what's in that ring" Percy responded back. It was true, or so he thought. He had saved the world from Kronos and the Titans, then did it again, this time against Gaea. He had fought more monsters than he could count.

Nazir stared right into Percy's soul. "If you fought right now, your body would be the next one to get dragged down here".

"Bullshit" Percy fired back.

Nazir walked forward until he was right in Percy's face. "You haven't put in the work maggot. Until you do, you're dead to me." Percy heard a bell ring. Nazir look up past Percy's shoulder. "Dinner's being served". With that he walked past Percy, bumping into his shoulder in the process.

Percy sighed once more and walked back to his bed. He reached down and grabbed the black shirt that Nazir had given him when he first came to the Ring. It was a tight fitting Nike athletic top. Percy slipped it on. Looking at his arms, he could see his well defined muscles curving underneath the black.

 _Black on black huh? Reminds me of Nico._

Percy walked toward the doorway that the boy had been dragged through. He followed the line of blood for about 20 feet until he saw a doorway to his right. He walked through and entered a fairly large room with tens of people. Some of them were combatants, some were guards, and some were captains. They ate at long beer hall style wooden tables. The room carried the sweet but intoxicating smell of wine. The room was filled with chatter, loud laughter and silverware rattling as drunken hands slapped their tables. Percy went and sat at the end of a table filled with about ten other combatants. There was a plate with beef stew and baguette bread already in front of him with a glass of wine to the side.

Percy took a bite of his bread and kept his head down, trying not to be noticed. He noticed his shoulder was brushing up against the shoulder of another male combatant. The seating was tight as the tables were packed. Right as Percy was about to eat some of his stew he heard his name called.

"IS THAT PERCY FUCKIN JACKSON?" He heard a drunken voice yell out. The chatter died down as Percy felt a hundred eyes on him. He looked up to see the man who had called him out. He was white, and looked to be in his late twenties. He was a large man, and had a huge ginger beard that was wet from spilt wine. He had equally messy ginger hair. "IT IS JACKSON" he shouted drunkenly when the two made eye contact.

Percy heard whispers around him, then the whole hall erupted into confused and excited chatter.

 _The Percy Jackson. Here, in the Ring?_

 _He's smaller than I thought._

 _How the hell did he beat the titans?_

 _I thought he had blonde hair!_

 _Where's the fucking wine?_

"Tell me, Percy Jackson, what's a hero like you doing down here with the lot of us?" Asked another man sitting three people down from him at his table. He was dirty and old looking, with a heavy Irish accent. He had many teeth missing and wore old stained rags with a beanie on top of him grimy head.

"For a crime I didn't commit" Percy responded.

The hall erupted with laughter. Hands smacked tables as many of the people held their sides trying to compose themselves. "Listen you peachy little fucker" the ginger haired man continued "I haven't introduced myself have I? I'm Grimwald. Been down here nine years. Heard that more times than I care to count. But I'll humor you. What crime are you innocent of that still landed you down here with us?"

Percy looked down at his lap, closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He looked at Grimwald, right in his green eyes. "For the murder of my girlfriend, Annabeth Chase".

More whisper erupted around the hall. "Aye, I heard about that rubbish" the man with the Irish accent shouted. "Heard he killed her good he did".

"Bullshit Wallace" Grimwald yelled back. "The only thing you hear are the flies buzzing around your disgusting ears". The hall erupted with laughter once more.

'He's right Wallace" A black haired woman who looked to be around Percy's age said. "We don't hear about anything from the outside world. At least, not the lower level combatants".

Right then a guard ran into the hall, shouting "the King has returned! The King has returned!". The hall got deadly quiet. The guard stopped in front of the captains table, bending over and placing his hands on his knees, panting heavily. "It's true" he breathed "I was at his holding area which was empty, went to take a piss and when I came back he was there! He was fucking there, just staring at me!"

Nazir stood up, carrying a face that told Percy he had seen this before. "Well then, my fellow dishonored" he said in his commanding yet calm voice "Let's go welcome the return of our King".


	2. The Process

Although Percy didn't really know what to expect, he was surprised when he saw a lion laying on its stomach, swinging its tail around playfully. The entire beer hall was gathered around the metal cage. People were pushing each other, grunting, trying to get a good view of the majestic beast.

"Uh, this is the King? He's a lion!" Percy exclaimed, somewhat annoyed. _Why the hell is there a lion here, and why is he referred to as a King?_

"Tell me Jackson, what do they call the lion in the mortal world?" Nazir asked Percy.

"Uh, the King of the jungle" Percy grunted.

"Then why are you shocked that our King is a lion"?

"I guess I just expected a person".

Nazir turned to face the rest of the spectators. "Alright you lot. Allow me to explain why our King has returned. Some of you already know this, but many of you don't. Our King returns to us for two reasons. Either one of the new combatants is actually innocent of their crime and not truly dishonored…"

Percy perked up. He felt a few eyes on his back as well. _Shit, I actually have proof!_

"...or the second reason, one of our more seasoned combatants has shown enough valor in their combat to be given the opportunity to wash off the sin from their body and no longer be dishonored".

"What do you have to do to prove your innocence?" a man shouted from the back.

A small, sinister smile played on Nazir's lips "Oh, it's quite simple really: You have to kill the King".

Everyone turned their gaze back to the King. _He doesn't look much different than a normal lion…_ Percy thought to himself as he scanned the beast. _Except…_ Percy stopped his thoughts when he saw the beast's eyes. The irises were a piercing lavender. They were the most beautiful yet intimidating eyes he had ever seen.

 _Man, he's gorgeous. I have to kill this thing?_

"But it's not as simple as just killing him" Nazir continued, as if he had read Percy's mind, his smile still on his lips. "You have to earn your fight with the King. First you must fight your way up and become Onyx team champion. Then you must kill Ivory's team champion. Then if you get that far, you must defeat the grand master champion. Then, you get a shot at the King".

The King rose and started circling his cage. He had a powerful stride, and moved gracefully. Percy could see the power in each step he took. His mane was a rich gold mixed with light brown. His golden skin looked smooth.

"Everyone except the guards, get to sleep. Guards, our King wants to be let into his habitat" Nazir said.

Despite his orders, everyone continued to stare at the lion. There was something about him that was captivating.

"Did I stutter? I said MOVE IT MAGGOTS!" Nazir shouted. This time, the combatants slowly filed back to their beds. Not a word was said. Everyone was too busy thinking about how they were going to get their shot at the King.

Percy laid on his straw bed. He wasn't tired at all. He was too busy thinking. _I actually have a chance to prove my innocence!? I know I'm innocent! Why else would the King show up right after I arrived?_

Percy felt something he hadn't felt in a long time: excitement. He knew deep down that killing the King wouldn't bring Annabeth back, but it would show all his former friends he was innocent.

 _Grover, Piper, Jason, Thalia, Leo… all of them, I could prove it to them! I really have a chance!_ Percy was so excited he wanted to fight the King right now. He wanted to show his friends he wasn't a murderer. He wanted to be accepted by the real world again.

Percy felt himself drifting off to sleep. He was on the verge of falling asleep when suddenly he began to cry. He couldn't understand why he was crying but the tears poured silently.

 _God Dammit, why am I crying?_

Thinking back on it, Percy had never really had time to think about everything that had happened the past week. He was too shocked when he had found Annabeth dead to truly comprehend the gravity of the situation. Then everything else was a blur. Athena's rage. The look of hurt and confused anger in his friends' eyes. Percy running away to The Ring, and then the return of the King. It was all too much.

Percy cried himself to sleep that night.

"Everyone gather around and watch what you're about to see closely." Nazir stated. The entirety of Onyx team had been gathered outside a window. They were still underground themselves, but beyond the window was an absolutely beautiful environment. Luscious green grass rolled out across a hilly field dotted with tall trees. There was a small river with the clearest water Percy had ever seen carved into the landscape. Boulders and fallen trees littered the land.

Suddenly, a hole appeared right in the middle of the land. Percy quickly realized it was a platform lowering, though it seemed to be a very old one judging from the creaking noise he heard. It lowered for about thirty seconds then stopped. There was about a minute of silence. Feet shuffled and people coughed in the awkward silence. Then the noise of the platform raising was heard, and once it reached the top a beautiful gazelle was visible. It had a lovely fur coat consisting of a creamy light brown on its back and a pure white glaze over its stomach. It's antlers stood sturdy and tall. They gave the beast pride.

Then Percy noticed something. One of the gazelle's hind legs was cut badly. The gazelle was lying on its side. It raised its head, sniffing the air, then lowered it in defeat. It moaned in pain.

 _By the Gods. what's the point of this?_ Percy thought to himself.

As if on cue, the King came into sight. He ran onto the top of a boulder which was on top of one of the hills. The biome was open to the sky, and the evening sun shined on the King's back, making him truly look like a God. Even from about 50 feet away, Percy could still see its piercing lavender eyes. The King looked down at the gazelle, and in a microsecond was sprinting toward it at an impossible speed.

 _Oh Gods, this is just cruel._

The King ran right up to the wounded gazelle, which was shaking with fear. The King lowered his nose and sniffed the gazelle inquisitively. He bared his fangs and looked up at the spectators and let out the loudest roar Percy had ever heard. Percy was shocked that the glass didn't shatter from the power of the roar. The King then turned and bounded back into the hills.

Nazir turned to the dazed spectators. "Now let me tell you something most of you don't know". The grinding of the gears were heard once more as the gazelle, untouched by the King, was lowered into the ground.

"I know all of you want to remove your sin by defeating the King. But there's something you're missing."

A few of the Onyx team members bore confused looks on their faces. Percy wasn't sure where Nazir was going with this either.

" You think a lion is who he is because of how ferocious he is when catches the gazelle" Nazir continued, raising his voice. "But if a real lion sees an animal that's already wounded, they don't kill them. Why? BECAUSE REAL LIONS LIKE THE HUNT!".

Percy was taken aback by Nazir sudden yelling. _He must be passionate about this_ Percy thought.

"REAL LIONS LIKE THE HUNT AS MUCH AS THEY LOVE THE REWARD. AND ALL OF YOU JUST WANT THE REWARD. YOU DON'T LOVE THE HUNT!"

"But, what the hunt is to the lion, the process is to you!" Nazir continued, not quite shouting, but still speaking loudly. "A real warrior loves the process. They love the training, putting in the work as much as they love the taste of victory. And all of you don't love the process, you only love the prize!"

Nazir chuckled to himself. "Everybody can get a tattoo of a lion. Everybody here wants to be out in the real world again. But none of you love the process. And that's why you don't stand a chance!".

With that, Nazir left the rest of Onyx team. At first, everyone stood there silently. Eventually people started filing out until Percy was the only one left in front of the window. He was looking at his hands the whole time.

 _Maybe he's right. Maybe I need to slow down before I think about clearing my name._

Percy looked back into the biome, which was now only dimly lit by the moon light, giving off an eerie vibe. Looking into the trees, Percy could've swore he saw a pair of lavender eyes staring back at him.


	3. The Boy in Black

**The Boy in Black**

One thing Percy learned was that the demigods down in the arena were really interesting people.

"Son of Ares, I am" Grimwald had told him early while they had been walking through the courtyard. The courtyard reminded Percy of a prison exercise yard in a sense. The point of it was to allow the combatants fresh air not available in the underground. As well, combatant interaction with the outside world was heavily restricted. Percy figured the guards thought allowing the combatants some view of the sky and natural weather would help temper the temptation to flee. Just in case any combatant did try to escape, a large cobblestone wall, mossy and beaten from wind erosion, lined the perimeter of the yard.

This particular night the courtyard was blanketed in a thin layer of pure white snow. It was still snowing gently, so white dots peppered Percy's view. The walkways in the courtyard were dimly illuminated by pale amber torches. There was a small pond next to a snow covered bench that had frozen over.

"I was a fuckin prodigy, I was. Most fierce warrior out of my brethren. I didn't take shit from anybody, and that's what got me here. Some kid from the Apollo cabin pissed me off, and I killed him".

At that point Percy looked up to Grimwald. He face was stern; it showed no signs of remorse. Yet at the same time, it showed none of the fire that Grimwald had said he was full of when he was in Camp Half-Blood. The jagged scar that ran down from the top right of his forehead, down across his eye and lip, and curved around to his jugular was eerily illuminated in the moonlight.

Grimwald looked down at Percy. "What? I'm here for a reason. It's not too bad here actually. I can kill someone in the arena when the thirst returns, there's meat and wine for dinner, and it's a place for me to sleep. My time here has been the best of my life".

Percy returned his gaze to the ground front of him. He shoved his pants in his jean pockets as he walked.

"What was it like, to kill someone in that fashion?" Percy asked tentatively, not wanting to sound condescending. _Don't want to get on this guy's bad side._

Grimwald raised his hand to his mouth and took a puff of the Honduran cigar he had in his hand. Apparently once you were an established enough combatant you had the privilege of receiving limited amounts of outside commodities. He blew the smoke out from his mouth and it formed a halo. "Didn't feel shit. That's what made me like this place better. It seems like no one here feels anything either".

After a few more minutes of silently walking Percy bared Grimwald farewell. Percy went around for another lap while Grimwald went back to the underground. Percy had learned that the rules were that you could come out and stay on the courtyard anytime and as long as you liked. Nazir had said that the catch was that you would be wasting your time by not working.

"Not working down here gets you killed" Nazir had told Percy earlier when he had walked up to the frozen lake. Nazir had been sitting on the bench, left arm outstretched over the top of the bench. His right hand gripped the hilt of his short sword. "So feel free to come and admire the sky all you want. If you ever want to get on the otherside of those walls though, you need to spend your time in the underground putting in work".

Yet here Percy remained. He was the only combatant left in the courtyard. He continued his walk around the yard. Snow was still gently falling from the sky.

Percy was overtaken by the sudden feeling of another person in the courtyard. He hadn't heard anyone else walk in. Despite this, he heard the crunching of snow behind him and a voice call out "Percy…"

Percy spun around to see a certain son of Hades looking at him. He was dressed in all black, with his Stygian iron sword slung in a black holster that hung from his belt. His brown eyes stared into Percy's green ones. They lunged at each other into an embrace. They held each other for a few seconds before moving back slightly to look back in each other's eyes. Percy patted Nico's back which was covered in a black leather jacket.

"How the hell did you get here?" Percy asked Nico, releasing his grip on the son of Hades.

Nico pointed to the shadow coming off the only tree in the courtyard. "Shadow Travel, duh. Look Percy, I got some things to tell you." Nico gripped his sword hilt as he said the second part and looked around wearily to make sure they were alone.

"Nico if the guards see you they'll kill us both" Percy told him as he looked over his own shoulder.

"I'll be quick. First, people miss you at Camp Half-Blood".

Percy looked at Nico with a puzzled expression. "Why the hell would they miss-"

"I know what you're thinking" Nico continued. "But Percy, we didn't just lose Annabeth. We lost _you_ too" Nico said, poking a finger in his chest. "People are hurt. Hurt because they lost two of their best friends. They want you both back"

Percy was touched in a way. When he thought about it, it made sense as to why they'd be upset. Despite this he was still happy they still had a shred of compassion for him, even if it was for the Percy had known, not the one that was alive right now. It gave him hope.

"Nico, you know I'm innocent. Can't you-"

"I believe you. Unfortunately I'm the only one who does. Well, sorta".

"What do you mean _sorta?"_

Nico sighed and look at the ground with his tired eyes. Percy could tell he was stressed. "Percy, there's going to be a war".

Percy looked at Nico dumfounded. "Uh, a war? Between who!?"

"Athena and Poseidon. They've always been rivals but Athena was so enraged by Annabeth's murder that she is taking her rage out on Poseidon. Poseidon on the other hand is confused, angry, and insulted at the same time. I'm not sure if he thinks you're innocent, but he's not about to take this disrespect from Athena, so he's firing back. And Zeus is trying to control them both and is putting everyone in danger".

Percy didn't know what to say. _A war, all because of me?_ He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.

"Has there actually been any fighting?"

"There's been a few skirmishes between the three sides. However the camps are in turmoil. The Athena children are being alienated and coming into conflict with the Apollo cabin, who is leaning more to Poseidon's side. But then you have Artemis and the hunters who are against Poseidon. Everything is going down hill."

Percy was quiet for a minute. He then looked back into Nico's eyes. "What side are you on?"

Nico looked down to his chest and unzipped his jacket to reveal a black leather chestplate. It was a trident engulfed in flames.

Percy returned his gaze to Nico's eyes. "Is Poseidon the winning side?"

Nico looked back into Percy's eyes. "Not from the look of it. We're outnumbered and outgunned".

Percy looked back down at Nico's chestplate. He then pulled him into another embrace. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and pulled back once more to look into Nico's eyes. "Nico, you don't have to-"

"I don't fucking care" Nice spat angrily. "I know you're innocent, and you know how I feel about you. Most of the campers hate me anyways. They excluded me because my father is the lord of death. I'll kill them if I have to."

Percy looked down at the ground and slowly let go of Nico. "Be careful Nico".

Nico nodded. "And you be careful as well. Do what you have to in order to prove your innocence. That's one of the two things that'll hopefully stop this war."

"What's the other?" Percy asked wearily, though he already knew the answer.

Nico looked hard into Percy's eyes. "Your death. By Athena's hands".


	4. The First Fight

**The First Fight**

Percy wasn't sure how much time had passed. Weeks? Months? Ever since his encounter with Nico, Percy was agonizing to learn what was going on in the outside world. He would hear the guards whisper amongst themselves over supper, but anytime Percy tried to listen in they would tell him to piss off. When he asked Nazir what was going on in the outside world, Nazir only shot him an annoyed look.

"Maybe if you actually win a battle in the Arena you'll have the privilege of receiving information from the outside world" he had told Percy.

All Percy had been doing was training. Every day he would go to the weight room and lift weights. Afterwards he would hack the living hell out of a straw dummy, riddling it with wounds until all the straw had fallen out. Then he would go back to the weight room and lift some more. Then back to the straw man, and the process repeated. The first few days of this had torn his body to shreds, but he had gotten stronger. He noticed that his arm muscles were larger and more well defined. He had a six pack. He could even do one armed push ups now. Percy truly felt like a lion.

It was with this confidence that Percy walked up to Nazir one day and told him "I'm ready".

Nazir, who had been leaning up against a wall with his arms crossed looked down at Percy and snorted. "You? Ready? You have a death wish?". Percy shot back a defiant look. "I've put in my work. Now I want to fight".

Nazir stood up straight, no longer leaning on the wall. "Very well, but I have one question for you: light or heavy?". Percy looked at Nazir with a dumbfounded look. "Uh, what does that mean?". Nazir shook his head in disappointment. "And you claim you're ready for the Arena. Light or heavy armour?".

Percy gave the question some thought, thinking back to his many encounters with monsters. He had always been quick on his feet, never making sure to stay in one place too long. He also never charged a monster head on unless he had to. Rather, he prefered to outmaneuver them and get a good strike on their back or side.

"Light" Percy responded. _Light feels right._

"Very well. You will report to the Arena ramp tomorrow morning. There you'll get your armour and head into battle". With that Nazir left Percy to his thoughts. Percy quickly realized however that he wasn't really thinking of anything, so he decided to walk to the small library that the Ring had.

After a few minutes of walking silently through the damp torch lit corridors Percy approached a doorway that had no actual door. On the other side he could see a few shelves filled with dust covered books. In between the shelves were old wooden tables with wooden benches lined around them. There was no one else inside. Apparently, the library wasn't a popular place. Percy looked up and saw that above the doorway was the word _Athenaeum_ carved into the stone.

 _ATHENAeum, huh? Maybe I shouldn't go in here…_

Despite his uneasiness Percy walked into the library. The dim light provided by the torches flickered. Shadows from the flames danced on the floor. Percy walked slowly to the desk in front of him. On it lied _The Art of War_ by Sun Tzu. Beside the book were small rolls of parchment, a quill and ink, and sealing wax.

Percy sat down. He stared at the items on the table for a few minutes, deep in thought. He then picked up the quill, dipped it in the inkwell and started to write. The ink twirled across the page and then dried up as he wrote.

Percy looked over his shoulder. He got a terrible feeling from being in this place. _This is Athena's domain… I am not welcome here_ he thought to himself as he peered around the room. The area directly around him was lit well enough, but down at the other end of the book shelves it was nearly pitch black. Percy couldn't shake the eerie feeling that something or someone was watching him. _Best finish this quickly…_

Soon he was done with his message. He rolled the paper up into a very small cylinder, then sealed it close with the sealing wax. He put the message into his pocket and walked out of the Athenaeum. As he was leaving, he looked back up to the _Athenaeum_ carved into the stone. It made him feel uneasy. He dared not look back through the doorway. He walked to the dining hall and saw that supper was being served. Percy walked to a bench and sat himself down. He looked at the chalice in front of him, which was filled with red wine.

"Are you gonna drink that fucking thing or just stare at it?". Percy looked up to see Wallace, looking as grimy and trashy as usual sitting down across from him.

"I've never been much of a drinker. Haven't drank alcohol ever, actually" Percy responded. He had never really had the desire to drink. He had always been too busy saving the world to sit down and get drunk.

Wallace smiled, revealing a set of yellow rotted teeth. "Well, there's a first time for everything lad. I heard you was going to have your first battle in the Ring tomorrow, is that right?".

Percy nodded in agreement.

"Well then, you're going to want some of this" Wallace said, his finger tapping the brim of the chalice.

Percy looked down at the wine once again. He sighed and picked up the cup. He took a small sip and put it back down on the table.

"Aye, stop being a pussy. Pick that glass up and drink the whole fucking thing" Wallace jested.

Percy shook his head as he picked up the cup. He put it to his mouth and drank. It felt warm and sweet going down his throat.

After a few gulps, Percy slammed the glass down on the table and coughed. He wiped a trace of wine that was cascading down his chin. Wallace smiled at him with those disgusting teeth.

"Alright, you fucker" Percy said as he wiped his mouth once more with his arm. "Get me another".

* * *

Percy awoke to a kick in the stomach. "It's time" he heard Nazir say. Percy sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. Nazir tossed a bag on Percy's lap. "After you put this up, come to the bloodwell". With that, Nazir turned and walked out, his onyx leather armor seemingly absorbing any light that touched it.

Percy unzipped the bag to see his light arena armour in the bag. He pulled out each piece one by one. There was a rough onyx leather Barbute for his head. Underneath was a light onyx leather cuirass with a lion, standing on its hind legs with its claws and fangs bared stitched into the chest area. Attached to the bottom of the cuirass were leather faulds. Percy then pulled out a pair of rough leather gauntlets, also in onyx clad. Finally he pulled out a rough onyx leather shield, also with the lion stitched into its leather. He realized that besides the boots and the few inches of shin protection their extended leather provided, his legs were unprotected. The length of his arms from his shoulders to his elbows were also exposed.

 _Well, it's light for a reason I suppose._

Percy put on the armour. It fit well enough, but he was still use to fighting in casual clothes.

 _I wish I would've had some time to practice in this armour…_

Percy exited the sleeping quarters and started walking down the long hallway to the bloodwell. A few of his fellow combatants watched him silently from their beds as he walked. Grimwald approached him from the front until he was right in front of Percy.

"Look, I like you lad. Keep your wits about you and you should make it". He gave Percy a pat on the shoulder and stepped aside. Percy nodded and continued toward the bloodwell. He soon reached it to see Nazir standing next to it. Percy walked up to Nazir and asked "who am I fighting?"

"I don't know. Isn't that the beauty of it? You have no idea who you're fighting. It could even be a monster. The only rule is that whoever Ivory team sends out is also fighting their first fight".

Percy took that information in silently. He then looked to the bloodwell. It was a large circle, with its cobblestone perimeter smeared with dried bloody handprints and blood in general. It was as high as Percy's waist and was supported by a single giant cobblestone beam right under its center. As Percy looked at it, he realized it was more of a bowl, as it was filled one foot deep with a clear water. The water looked so pure and clean, Percy felt stronger by just standing near it. Nazir saw Percy eyeing the well.

"Ah, the bloodwell. Must be tempting to touch, especially for a son of Poseidon. If you do end up winning your battle, you can heal your wounds in the well. Now, get up there and fight".

Percy looked past the bloodwell. There was a gradual incline that was maybe a tenth of a mile long. At the end of it was a large wooden door that looked like a tic tac toe board, similar to one you'd find at the entrance of a medieval castle. Sunlight poured through the square holes. Percy walked past the well and pulled riptide from his pocket. As he walked up the incline he uncapped the pen, and it grew into a long celestial bronze sword.

"Remember Jackson" Nazir called out. Percy turned to look at him.

"Don't die with a clean sword".

Percy nodded and turned back toward the door. He continued his ascension up to the Arena. As he approached the door he could hear the sound of a crowd. A large one. It sounded like there were hundreds of people, maybe even thousands. Percy walked up to the door and shielded his eyes. The sunlight was blinding. The door creaked to life and slowly was raised. Percy stepped outside into the sun. It was unbearably bright. His eyes hadn't seen the sun shine so bright in ages.

The crowd roared to life. He heard cheers, boos, and screams. He heard a distinct "FUCK YOU PERCY JACKSON" come from the crowd and another "I LOVE YOU" from some woman in the crowd. Percy tried to look at the crowd, but his eyes were still adjusting from the light. From what he could tell, the Arena was pretty much like the coliseum in Rome, except smaller and in better shape. The crowd was raised up about thirty feet from the Arena floor, which was made up of dry dirt. The people in the stands looked like normal people. Percy couldn't tell if they were demigods, mortals, or monsters in disguise. Percy looked at his hand which was gripping Riptide. He noticed he was sweating. It was quite hot out, especially with the sun.

 _Winter must have passed_ Percy thought to himself.

"Attention, Attention" Percy heard a deep male voice rip out. It was loud and sounded like it was coming from an intercom or something of the sort, though Percy couldn't identify who was talking.

"Thank you all for coming" the voice continued, sounding like it was amused. "Today, two whelps come to us to be bloodied for the first time. As you know, only one will leave this Arena. SO LET THE FIGHT BEGIN!". A loud roar of approval followed from the crowd. Percy looked directly in front of him to see another large wooden door, exactly like the one he had walked through, opening. Percy looked above the door to see what appeared to be a small throne, with someone who looked pretty important sitting in it. He wore a long ivory satin robe and was surrounded by whores who had their tits out. One of them was sitting on the man's lap, clearly trying to get his attention, but he was looking at Percy. On the wall below him, two Ivory colored banners hung, with a lion that looked exactly like the one on Percy's chest plate stitched on them.

Percy then decided to look up behind him to see almost an identical scene. Another man, this time in an onyx satin robe, surrounded by whores and with onyx banners flying in the breeze beneath him. He looked at Percy and nodded. Percy turned back around to scan the arena. It was pretty much a large empty circle except every now and then there were broken marble pillars that stood fifteen to thirty feet high.

"In one corner, representing the Onyx team, the former demigod hero and son of Poseidon himself, it is my pleasure to introduce you to PERCY JACKSON!" the voice roared as the crowd once again came to life. Some of the spectators started throwing things into the Arena. Some of the things were beautiful red roses, some of them were old banana peels and tomatoes.

"And in the other corner representing team Ivory, another dishonored demigod! This time a son of Ares, please welcome Justin Brown!". As the crowd roared to life and more items were thrown, Percy looked at his opposition. His opponent has also chosen light armour, but his was a creamy ivory. He had a buzz cut, but Percy could still tell he was a blonde. He had hard green eyes. He bore a steel battle axe in one hard and a leather ivory shield in the other. He looked to be maybe an inch taller than Percy, and looked perhaps a little stronger as well. He had well defined muscles, and Percy could tell he was an Ares kid from the look in his eyes.

 _He's loving this._

Percy started walking toward Justin, and he did the same. Soon they meet each other in the middle of the arena, where Percy realized there was a large cobblestone circle with a lion carved into it underneath their feet.

"Percy Jackson" Justin said. He had a rough and gravelly voice. "I've heard stories about you. People talked about you like you were a God, and now you're here".

"And now I'm here" Percy responded cooly.

"It's a shame really. We could have been friends".

"Perhaps we could've".

Justin sighed and continued to stare into Percy's eyes. "Well Percy Jackson, I didn't come here with the intention of dying".

Percy didn't break his gaze with Justin. "Neither did I. But good luck to you Justin Brown".

Justin nodded. "And good luck to you, Percy Jackson".

With that, they both took a few steps back until they each were on the edge of the cobblestone circle. "Combatants" the voice rang out again. "Are you READY TO FIGHT!?". Percy and Justin both nodded their heads, not breaking eye contact with each other. Percy raised his shield in front of his body and got into a defensive stance, with his right foot planted behind him. Justin did the same.

"THEN LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!".

For a moment, time stood still. The crowd was in pandemonium, but Justin and Percy stood in their formations, just staring at each other. Then suddenly Justin charged Percy with a loud war cry. He moved quickly, and within a few seconds was right on top of Percy. He swung his axe with another cry. Percy dodged to the right in the nick of time, but felt the axe graze his shoulder plate. Percy spun left to face Justin again, but Justin had recovered astonishingly quickly. He jumped in the air with his axe raised up behind him. His body blocked out the sun. At the last second, Percy raised his shield. He felt and heard a CRUNCH as the steel impacted the leather. Percy felt a pain go through his left arm, but he knew it was from the force of the impact with the shield, not from an actual flesh wound. Percy stumbled backwards but was then pulled forward, causing him to nearly fall. As he was stumbling forward he realized that Justin's axe had lodged into his shield, and he was trying to pull it free.

Percy planted his left foot in front of him and pulled back. Justin stumbled forward, still trying to pull his axe out. Percy pulled the shield closer to him once again, bringing Justin right up to him. Percy then screamed and swung Riptide at Justin as fast as he could. Justin's eyes widened and he let go of his axe and dove to his right. Percy's blade missed his head by inches.

Justin then quickly rolled back to his feet. He stared Percy down. He now had no weapon, as it was lodged in Percy's shield. The crowd roared in delight. More rotten fruit and roses were thrown.

Percy knew he had the advantage. Percy charged Justin, shield guarding the front of his body. Justin grimaced and raised his shield in front of him. Percy swung Riptide and landed a good hit on Justin's shield. Justin stumbled a bit and Percy swung again. Justin managed to block his strike yet again. Percy then kicked his shield and Justin fell on his back. Percy screamed and swung his sword down at Justin. Justin rolled to the side and Percy's blade struck nothing but dirt. Justin then jumped to his feet quickly. He grabbed the top of Percy's shield and pulled Percy toward him. As Percy was being pulled forward Justin threw his arm back and balled his hand into a fist. Percy swung out his right arm and slashed Riptide towards the right. Before he could cut Justin in half, Justin's fist hit Percy right in the nose. Percy felt and heard a nasty CRACK before he fell to the ground. He was still aware enough to continue to swing his sword, and he heard Justin yell in pain as he fell to the ground.

Percy hit the ground hard and saw stars dancing in his vision. He leaned up on his elbow and felt his nose with his right hand. It felt swollen and warm, and when he looked at his fingers they were covered in blood. He looked up in a daze to see Justin holding his left side. His armour had been gashed, and blood was oozing out from the wound. Justin limped up to Percy, who was too dazed to defend himself, and kicked him in the side. He then grabbed his axe, which was still lodged in Percy's shield, and tried to pry it free. Percy tried to swing Riptide but Justin had planted his foot on Percy's forearm. Justin continued to pull on Percy's shield, but the damned axe wasn't coming loose. Percy tried to free his arm from Justin's foot, but his leg was too strong. Percy realized when Justin freed his axe he was a goner, so he decided to improvise. He saw that Justin was leaning backwards, putting all of his energy into trying to free his axe. Percy slipped his left arm free of the leather straps that secured it to his shield and saw as Justin stumbled backwards due to his momentum. Percy slowly got up. He had managed to free himself and he still had Riptide, but now he had no shield.

Percy looked to Justin to see him finally rip the axe out of the shield. He threw Percy's shield to the ground and looked to Percy. They both got into their defensive stances. The crowd was roaring, wanting to see more bloodshed.

Percy and Justin slowly started to circle each other, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Percy eventually circled to where his shield was and quickly put it back on.

 _Ah, fuck this._

Percy charged Justin. He swung his sword which was met by Justin's shield. The impact send a pain through his arm. Percy pulled back and swung again, hitting the leather shield once more. Justin then pulled back and raised his axe. Percy raised his sword. Bronze clashed with steel as the two tried to overpower each other. Percy pulled back and swung Riptide across his body, trying to hit Justin in the side once again, only to had Justin deflect the attack with his shield. Justin then swung his axe at Percy, only to have it deflected by Percy's shield. This continued for a few strikes until they both backed off of each other, panting, covered in sweat and blood.

The crowd was roaring. Percy took off his helmet and threw it to the side. _Gods, this is never going to end if this keeps up. I need to end this, now…_ An idea popped into Percy's head. It was a gamble, but he was getting tired. His nose was still bleeding, and he was starting to feel dizzy. Justin didn't look to hot either, as he grimaced with every step he took, the cut in his side still leaking blood. However, Percy didn't want to wait and see who lasted longer.

Percy charged Justin and swung his sword. Justin deflected it, as Percy expected. Percy then pretended to stumble back. Justin took the opportunity and swung at Percy. Percy blocked the attack with Riptide, but allowed the momentum of Justin's strike to spin him backwards. He then pretended like Riptide flew from his hands as he felt it turn back into a pen. He then fell purposely onto his stomach and rolled onto his back to looked up at Justin.

Justin didn't care to look and see where Riptide had landed, as he was focused on coming in for the kill. Justin charged until he was right on top of Percy and swung his axe. He was blocked by Percy's shield. Justin swung a couple more times. Percy felt the leather falling apart and his arm was searing in pain.

 _It's now or never…._

After Justin's next swing, Percy flung his shield forward, throwing Justin's swinging arm back. Percy then sat up and thrust his right arm forward. Justin bore a confused look on his face as Percy uncapped Riptide. The celestial bronze shot out from the pen and went straight through Justin's stomach as it continued to expanded. Justin's eyes widened and glazed over as Riptide fully expanded. A few seconds passed that felt like an eternity. Justin stared at the sword that was now in his stomach. He tried to grab at it but his eyes soon rolled into the back of his head. He slumped forward and Percy let go of Riptide as Justin fell to the ground.

Percy grimaced and stood up. He looked at Justin's body to see a pool of sickly blood forming around his body. Percy flipped Justin onto his back and pulled Riptide from his stomach. His green eyes were lifeless. Percy bent down and closed his eyelids.

"And your winner is PERCY JACKSON!". The crowd was going nuts. There were cheers, boos, screams and laughter. Percy looked up to the onyx throne to see the man, still surrounded by whores, standing and clapping. On the ivory side, the man on the throne shook his head in disappointment.

"Go now and rest combatant, you HAVE EARNED IT!". Percy heard the large wooden door on the onyx side of the Arena creak open. Percy started to walk slowly toward it. Roses and rotten fruit littered his path. Percy capped Riptide once again and went under the Arena.

He walked down the incline until the sunlight was no longer visible. He reached the bloodwell to see Nazir standing there.

"You actually won your battle! I didn't think you'd be able to do it!" Nazir said in a tone Percy hadn't heard from him before. He sounded like he was actually capable of being happy.

Percy ignored him and placed his head into the bloodwell. Instantly he felt his nose healing and strength returning to his body. Within seconds he raised his head, water dripping from his hair. He felt like a new man.

"Since you are no longer a whelp, you are granted one request that the guard can fulfill. As long as it's within reason of course" Nazir told Percy.

Percy looked Nazir in the eye. He reached under his cuirass and pulled out the small note he had written earlier. He gave it to Nazir.

"Get that to Nico Diangelo. Now".


	5. In the Name of Peace

**In the Name of Peace**

Nico had never held much of an appreciation for the outside world. He prefered solitude and darkness to rolling green hills and bright sun. However, he couldn't deny the stunning beauty of the Scottish highlands. He was at the top of a hill, and in front of him the land opened up to a spectacular valley. At the bottom of the valley, a thin gravel trail snaked across the land until it eventually met up with a crystal blue lake that was partially blocked by the left side of the valley. Tall green and yellow grass swayed in the breeze as far as the eye could see. The sun was setting, the orange sphere partially hiding behind the valley walls. Nico could see wild game in the valley below: goats, with pale white fur and large horns grazed on the grass peacefully. Sheep, with their large fluffy coats trotted through the valley.

The horse Nico was riding nickered and looked toward the ground, dragging its front right hoof through the dirt. He was agitated, though from what Nico couldn't tell. Nico reached down with his right hand and stroked his mane. He was a beautiful, inky black mustang. He moved his head slightly so his neck leaned into Nico's hand. He nearly blended into the shadows that were being cast by the setting sun.

 _It's nearly time_ Nico thought to himself.

Nico heard another horse trotting behind him. He kept his gaze on the spectacular valley before him. In his peripheral vision he saw Will Solace come beside him, riding a brown Arabian mount of his own.

Will spat. "Remind me why the fuck we're here again" he grumbled.

Nico turned to look at Will. His long blond hair rippled in the breeze. He had been wearing normal clothes, a camp half blood t shirt and blue jeans, but he had since put on a brown leather cuirass to protect himself. He had leather greaves and boots to protect his extremities. His arms were exposed: Nico had insisted he wore a cuirass with long sleeves, but Will wouldn't have it. It messed with his shot, he had told Nico. Will had a long, brown wooden bow slung across his back. He had no quiver, only a select few arrows attached to the bow, held in little notches.

Nico himself was in a garb similar to Will's. He was wearing black joggers and a black t shirt with a skull on it. However, he was also wearing black leather armour, the burning trident of Poseidon stitched into his chestpiece. Unlike Will, Nico's cuirass provided full arm protection with long black leather sleeves. As well, Nico had his stygian iron sword holstered and wrapped around his waist in favor of a bow. Their mounts bore no armour, though Will and Nico both had saddles to make the riding easier.

Nico brushed a few strands of hair out of his eyes "Poseidon wants us to scout the area, see how far spread Athena's forces are".

Will sighed in response. "We're in bloody fucking Scottland! The real fight is across the sea, back in the states!"

Nico returned his gaze to the valley. "I know, but Athena's smart. She may be up to something".

"Seems like a long shot to me that she'd have any forces here".

"It is, but it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, we get to enjoy this view" Nico said as he raised his hand and waved it across his body, bringing attention to the spectacular valley in front of them.

Will snorted. "You? Enjoying nature? Yeah right".

"Piss off Will" Nico said, and Will chuckled.

Nico looked to the sky, which was now a messy mixture of blue, orange and red as the sun continued to set. Nico noticed a small shape moving across the sky. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a bird, but Nico couldn't tell in the low light. Whatever it was, it was coming closer to them, and fast.

"Will, you see that?" Nico said as he pointed up toward the object.

Will looked up and squinted his eyes. He pulled his bow from his back and notched an arrow, brought the bow to tension and pointed at the object. The horses nickered and shuffled around uneasily.

Suddenly the two heard a loud "CAW" from the object. Will lowered his bow and eased the tension. "Bloody hell, it's a fucking raven" he said as he re holstered his bow.

"Are ravens even native to this region?" Nico asked.

"Hell if I know. I'm more interested as to why it's coming toward us".

The raven descended and glided toward the two. Within minutes the raven had reached them. It flapped its wings and went right up to Nico's face, still flying. He noticed that it was carrying something in it's claw. Nico gently grabbed it and the raven released its grip on the object. It then turned around and flew away, cawing as it went.

Will bore a confused look on his face as Nico fingered the object. It was a small scroll of parchment rolled up and sealed with red sealing wax. Where the stamp had been imprinted in the wax was the image of a lion on its hind legs, fangs and claws bared, roaring ferociously.

Nico broke the seal and unrolled the paper.

 _Nico,_

 _By the time you read this, I will have won my first Arena fight. Seek out my father if you haven't already, and tell him that I will prove my innocence by defeating The King. He should hopefully know who The King is. Be careful, and try to find a peaceful solution. But if all else fails, win this fucking war._

 _Percy_

Nico stared at the parchment, thoughts swirling through his head. _Who's the King? Who did Percy fight? How did he even manage to send this message?_ His thoughts were interrupted by Will.

"Aye, what is it?"

Nico rolled up the parchment and showed it into his pants pocket. "A message from Percy. Come now, we must leave".

Nico looked around, and sure enough, shadows reached across the land like long thin fingers, grabbing onto the valley, ready to take it into the night.

Nico outstretched his hand toward Will. "Grab on".

Will looked to Nico and nodded. Their hands interlaced, leather greaves intertwining. Nico shut his eyes and concentrated. He felt himself ripped from existence as he began to shadow travel. He made sure to keep his concentration. A few moments later they popped back into reality, this time landing in Maui. Once they came back into this realm, Nico bent over and gasped.

"Hell, you took us across the world in a few seconds. You're getting good at this, though it does leave you feeling a little, uh, sick" Will said as he retched over. He vomited to his right, coughing and spitting out the dinner the two had shared earlier. Nico felt horrible as well. That was the farthest he had shadow traveled in the shortest amount of time ever, and everything around him was spinning slightly. He lowered his head and leaned up against the neck of his mount.

Around the two the Hawaiian sun bore down on them, though it was setting. The rolling hills and valleys of the highlands was replaced with a picturesque beach. They were on the sand, to their right were clear turquoise waters. Nico could see the sea creatures engaging in the dance of life. Beautiful palm trees as well as other greens made up the flora behind them. A sandy trailed weaved through the plant life and led to the camp. Aqua blue tents, maybe thirty in all, were set up in a large clearing surrounded by luscious green trees on three sides. The trident of Poseidon was stitched onto the top of the tents.

Nico gave his steed a gentle slap on the side and used the reigns to steer him toward the tents, all while leaving his head leaned up against his steed's neck. Will, after spitting out the last of his supper, gave his reigns a yank and followed behind Nico. Within minutes they had entered the camp. A few campers from New Rome and Camp Halfblood walked through the camp. Cyclops worked in the forge, hammering red hot steel into weapons of war. Water spirits, literally made of swirling green and blue sea water in the shape of humans, floated around eloquently. Nico rode up to the biggest tent of them all, a massive turquoise tent. A flag flapped in the wind at the top of the tent, bearing Poseidon's trident in its fabric.

Nico coughed and slid of his mount. He retched over and spit. He was sure he was going to vomit, but he didn't have time to wait and see what happened. He slowly stood and waited for Will to come to his side. Once he did, Nico walked into the tent.

The tent was grand and beautiful. A large light blue Persian rug lined the floor. There were wooden tables with candles lighting them. Food was set out on the tables: bowls of colorful fruit, french baguettes and beefy jerky. A few campers were sitting at the tables, eating and talking amongst themselves. Their goblets were filled with a hardy ale. Past the tables, there was another tent flap, signifying the headquarters. Nico walked past the tables and up the few stairs and into the back area.

The back didn't look much different from the front, except in the back was a large table with a throne at the end of it. The throne was made from a turquoise stone and embedded in it were images of the sea and its many creatures. Behind the throne was a large cabinet, and at its top was Poseidon's trident. It was a mix between turquoise and aqua in color. The three pronged tip of the trident looked as deadly as ever. The damned thing radiated so much power, Nico felt that if he touched it he would instantly disintegrate.

In the throne sat Poseidon himself. He was wearing a tie dye Hawaiian shirt, khaki shorts and flip flops, as well as a fisherman's hat. He had grey hair and looked like a man in his early 50s. His body told the story of a tired man, though his green eyes were sharp and alive with power. He was stroking his chin with one hand while looking at a map laid out on the table. Sitting at the table beside him were a few men advising him, though they were dressed in turquoise armour much nicer than Will and Nico's. Theirs were made from actual metal, and had elegant art similar to that found of Poseidon's throne. Nico assumed they were minor sea gods, as they had an aura of power to them as well, though nothing near to what was radiated from Poseidon. One of them had been talking, but stopped mid sentence to look at Nico and Will. Nico looked to Poseidon and bowed slightly. "Your honor".

Poseidon smiled slightly, though Nico could see the stress hidden beneath his smile. "Nico, good to see you. Come sit down" He said, beckoning to the empty chairs around the table. Nico nodded and sat down, Will sitting next to him.

"Now tell me, what do you have to report?".

"The Scottish highlands looked clear from what we could tell. No sign of Athena".

Poseidon relaxed slightly. "Good".

"But there's something else…" Nico continued.

Poseidon frowned. "What is it?"

"I received a message from Percy" Nico said, pulling the parchment from his pocket. He reached across the table and handed it to Poseidon. Poseidon looked at it inquisitively and read the message. His face paled.

"The King… gods help him" he said as he rolled up the message and handed it back to Nico.

Nico frowned. "Who's the King?"

Poseidon sighed "I will tell you soon Nico. But first, I have another assignment for you. I need you to go to camp half blood under the banner of peace. I need you to try and convince the campers there from turning against one another. It's too late to stop the conflict amongst the gods, but maybe you can at least keep our children from killing each other".

Nico leaned forward "I understand, but I'm not exactly the most charismatic-"

"I know" Poseidon cut him off. "But you're one of my most trusted allies. Take Will with you, and please, try to keep camp half blood from falling into ruin".

Nico nodded. Will spoke up "what's the situation anyways? Haven't heard an intel report in days".

Poseidon rubbed his temples. "Athena has attacked one of our camps in Florida".

Will looked shocked, and then angry " _Attacked?_ With what?" he growled.

"Thought spirits, or at least that's what we're calling them. Similar to how I have my water spirits, Athena is literally thinking an army into existence. Artemis and the hunters as well as amazons are on her side, viewing Percy's actions as another atrocity committed by a male".

"What happened to our forced at the camp?" Will asked, clearly angry.

"They got cut down. Poor bastards never saw them coming. Lost a lot of good cyclopses" one of the men in armour responded.

Will slammed his fist into the table "goddamit! I'll make those fuckers pay!" Nico put a hand on Will's shoulder and motioned for him to settle down. He then returned his gaze to Poseidon.

"What about Thalia?" Nico asked.

"I don't know. But I know that the hunters are at camp halfblood, trying to recruit the remaining campers to Athena's side. You need to hurry and stop them".

Nico looked to Will and looked back at Poseidon. "What if they attack us when we get there?"

"They won't. At least I hope they wouldn't. The hunters should be smart enough to realize it wouldn't look good".

Will nodded. "We'll get it done" he said with a murderous look in his eyes. "When do we leave?"

"At first light. I know you must be tired from shadow travel Nico, so get some supper and rest. You'll need all your energy for tomorrow".

Nico nodded, then took his leave from Poseidon. Will went to the barracks to get some supper, but Nico decided to go and feed his mount. The Hawaiian breeze felt good on his neck as he walked.

Nico walked up to the stables. It was now night, the moon shining down on the camp. Nico pet his horse, who nickered in enjoyment. Nico fed him some feed from his hand and looked up as he felt the horse's tongue licking his hand. He looked into the forest surrounding the camp and saw a large pair of yellow eyes staring back at him about fifteen feet above the ground. He frowned and took a few steps toward the eyes, gripping the hilt of his sword. Suddenly Nico heard the flapping of wings, and the yellow eyes took flight. In the light of the moon, Nico saw that they belonged to a white owl, one that hooted at him and flew off into the distance to report to its mistress.


	6. The Forgotten Forest

**The Forgotten Forest**

You would've thought Percy had just won the jackpot with how excited Onyx team was. As soon as he had walked down to the barracks, Percy was greeted with cheers and slaps on the back, playful punches to the gut and hugs. Percy was even kissed on the cheek from the black haired girl that Percy had seen from one of his first nights in the Ring.

"My name is Ayesha. You've done Onyx team a great honor" she had told Percy with a smile. Even the guards seemed more upbeat than usual. Nazir himself was quite happy. He was actually smiling. Percy didn't think that Nazir was capable of feeling emotion, let alone happiness, so when Nazir told everyone that there would be extra wine for supper tonight, Percy was shocked. The entire Ring had erupted in a cheer. Percy thought the stone roof was going to collapse and kill them all with how much the wooden support beams were shaking. After everyone had settled down, Percy made his way to the sleeping quarters so he could change out of his armament.

As he was stripping down, peeling off sweat and blood soaked gauntlets and greaves, Percy heard someone else walk into the sleeping quarters. He turned his head to see Grimwald standing there.

"I know I won, but I didn't expect the whole place to explode" Percy commented as he turned his head back to focus on taking off his chestpiece.

"You don't understand Jackson. Onyx team had lost thirteen straight matches against Ivory. We were certain that you were going to be number fourteen" Grimwald commented in his low and gravelly voice.

Percy pulled off his chestpiece and looked at it in his hands. The lion still looked as fierce as ever, standing proudly on its hind legs, fangs and claws beared. Percy turned his head back around to look at Grimwald, chestpiece still in his hands. Grimwald had taken out another cigar and was puffing away silently. He was wearing a simple white t shirt, acid washed blue jeans and timberlands.

Percy stifled back a laugh, but couldn't keep a smile from playing on his lips. Grimwald saw the smile and stopped puffing his cigar, though he kept it in his mouth. He looked around him, hands spread out to his sides in a " _what is it?"_ sort of manner. Percy couldn't help himself anymore. He burst into a full laugh, dropping the chestpiece and bending over, holding onto his gut.

"Aye, what the hell are you laughing about?" Grimwald asked defensively.

Percy turned around to face him, still snickering a bit. "Where in the fuck did you get Timberlands?" Percy laughed out. "You look like a member of a Kanye West fashion show".

Grimwald looked down at his shoes and showed them off. "What, you don't like them? Told you if you win enough fights you can get what you want from the outside world".

"But out of all of the things to get from the outside world, you chose a pair of _Timberlands_?"

"Yeah, because they're cool" Grimwald grunted with a completely serious face, though Percy thought he was trying not to smile.

Percy shook his head, still smiling. Slowly his smile faded away as a thought dawned on him. "Grimwald, you said Onyx had lost thirteen straight battles before me right?"

"Aye" he replied, nodding his head.

"I've been down here for a decent while and there has only been a few fights. You obviously won your last fight, so how long have you been down here?".  
Grimwald stroked his chin. His green eyes were deep in thought. "Can't tell honestly. Time is difficult to keep track of here. All I know is when I last won, these weren't popular" he said as he showed off his Timberlands once more. "But that isn't important. Come now to the mess hall, it's time to sup".

Percy nodded. He threw on a white Nike shirt to go with black shorts. He slipped Riptide into his pocket and put on a pair of black tennis shoes to boot and followed Grimwald. As they approached the hall, Percy heard the commotion going on within. Glasses clinked against one another. Loud laughter rolled out of the room and through the damp, dimly lit hallways. Hands slapped wooden tables.

Percy and Grimwald walked into the mess hall. Apparently they were late, because most everyone seemed to be drunk. When everyone saw Percy, a loud cheer erupted from the room, and everyone tried to call them over to their table. Percy settled for the spot he normally went to, Grimwald sitting next to him. Wallace was across from them, and Ayesha a few spots down from Wallace. People beside Percy gave him drunken pats on the shoulder before turning back to drink. Percy looked down into his wooden mug to see a sweet red wine, filled to the brim. Percy picked up the mug and put it to his lips, but before he could take a sip Nazir rose from the head table and rose his goblet.

"To Percy Jackson, who has brought Onyx team honor once more!"

"TO PERCY JACKSON" the hall boomed before everyone took a swing of their wine. Nazir made eye contact with Percy, tipped his cup toward Percy in a sign of respect, and took a drink. Percy did the same and took a swing. He had been getting better at drinking alcohol. Soon he had drank his mug dry. Someone quickly passed him a leather flagon and Percy refilled his mug once more, already feeling slightly buzzed. He took another sip and then set the mug down, turning to his food. There was a piece of baguette to go with a strip of steak and corn on the cob. On the tables were large golden metal bowls filled with bounties of colorful fruit. Percy gambled on a fresh looking apple and bit into it. It tasted sweet and Percy felt its juice roll down his chin. Percy set down the apple and was about to bite into his steak when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Percy looked behind him to see a guard, dressed in his Onyx clad looking at him. He got up to Percy's ear as the whole hall was incredibly loud.

"Nazir has requested you don't get too drunk, as he has need of you after we have supped". Percy nodded and gave a thumbs up. The guard nodded back and walked back to the head table. Percy pushed his cup to the side of him and focused on his food. After a few minutes of eating his steak he decided to look up and listen into the conversations going on around him. He saw Wallace swinging his arms around and laughing bombastically, slapping people's arms to make sure they were paying attention. Percy leaned in and listened.

"And then the bastard was like "do you have any last words, Onyx team scum?" And I was like "Yeahhh, I do. As a matter of fact, your fly is down!"". The whole table erupted in laughter, wine splashing out of mugs as they were swung around drunkenly.

"What's he talking about?" Percy asked Grimwald, who was busy eating his steak. He ate it very clean for such a big and hardy man. He used his fork and knife in a very polite manner, and kept his arms close to him as to not take up too much space. He dropped his fork on his plate and looked up to Wallace.

"Telling the story of his first fight. Crazy story, truth be told" he told Percy, still looking at Wallace.

"Wallace had actually fought before. And _won_?". Percy had thought Wallace had come down here but never fought.

"Aye, he did. You wouldn't think from the looks of him though would ya?" Grimwald said, turning his attention back to his steak. Percy turned back to his plate as well and took a few bites of his corn.

"Also saw how you won your fight. Clever." Grimwald commented, not taking his eyes off his steak.

"You were watching me?".

"Aye. The combatants that have won matches can watch others fight."

Percy couldn't recall seeing Grimwald in the stands, though he hadn't spent too much time looking through them. Percy felt a small pang of guilt in his chest when he thought about Grimwald watching him fight. He felt as if the way he had won his battle was cheap. If he and Justin had been given the same weapons, Justin would have won and Percy would have been loss number fourteen.

"He was better than me" Percy said quietly, staring into his mug. He tried to look for a reflection in the thick red wine, but couldn't find one.

"Aye. But you were smarter, and that's all that matters." Grimwald replied, still not taking his eyes off his steak.

Percy remained deep in thought for a little while after his discussion with Grimwald, taking casual sips of his wine and enjoying his food. He would be dragged into stories on occasion and would laugh with the others, but he never was fully engaged. Eventually drunken combatants began to stumble out of the mess hall. Soon there was no one left except for the members of the head table, Percy and Grimwald.

Grimwald took a look at the head table and turned to face Percy, bearing a _here we go_ expression. He rose and placed a hand on Percy's shoulder.

"Whenever you go with them, make sure to stay on the bloody path. I don't care what you see. Don't go off the fucking trail, and don't leave the light of the fire".

"What are you talking about?" Percy asked confused. Grimwald merely looked around the mess hall, nodded at Nazir, shot Percy a supporting look and left, leaving Percy alone in the hall with Nazir and the guards. Percy looked toward them and made eye contact with Nazir. He stood and began to speak.

"Come now Jackson, we are not going to hurt you. You must do something every other combatant that has won a match has done" he said, beckoning Percy to follow him. Percy rose from his seat and began to approach Nazir. Percy looked back to his table one last time and saw his mug, still filled with a bit of wine. Percy then looked to Nazir, then back to the mug.

 _Ah, why not?_

Percy walked quickly to the table, picked up the mug and chugged down the rest of the wine. He put the mug back down on the table and wiped his chin. He then walked quickly to the head table.

"Why did you do that?" Nazir asked Percy once he had reached him, his tone suggesting he was slightly amused.

"Preparation".

"For what?".

"For whatever you're going to do".

Nazir looked at Percy for a moment and snorted, then turned around and started walking toward a doorway that was behind the head table. Nazir was followed by two guards, dressed in their Onyx armour, steel swords attached to their waists. "Come now Jackson" Nazir said as he walked through the doorway. Percy followed behind.

Percy had always thought that the doorway behind the head table lead to the kitchen. He did see another doorway to his left which lead to what looked like a kitchen. However the hallway extended beyond this doorway, with torches hung on the walls to illuminate their path. Percy walked behind Nazir for a few minutes before approaching a wooden door. Nazir pulled out a bulky iron key and unlocked the door.

When the door swung open Percy at first saw nothing. There were torches hung along the walls just like there had been in the hallway prior. Suddenly, Percy saw a flash of green light and directly in front of Nazir stool a green oval about twelve feet tall, shimmering. It looked almost like a thin layer of water that was trying to crash into the ground, but was being held in place by the large stone support beams on each side and on top of it. These beams were anything other than neat however. They were jagged and rough, and looked like they were taken straight from nature and plopped into the room.

Nazir began to walk toward the green oval, and the guards followed. Percy followed slowly, weary of whatever the green thing was. As he approached it, he heard whispers, both male and female. What language they spoke in or what they said Percy couldn't tell, but they made the hair on Percy's back stand on end. Once they were right outside the portal, the whispering was only that much louder. Percy decided to try and add his own voice to their eerie chorus.

"What the hell is this thing? It's creeping me out…" Percy commented.

"A portal" Nazir responded solemnly, eyes locked on the shimmering green light.

"A portal? Portal to where?".

Nazir didn't answer his question. He instead responded with a "follow my lead. Just walk right through. When you get to the other side, don't go anywhere without me. Got it?"  
Percy wanted to protest, but he decided to trust Nazir and nodded. Nazir gripped the hilt of his steel sword and pulled it out from his hilt. The two guards did the same. Percy pulled out Riptide from his pocket and uncapped the pen, letting the celestial bronze bask in the green light. Nazir stepped through the portal. Percy heard a sound similar to wind quickly rushing through a small opening. One of the guards followed suite. The other looked to Percy and said "you first. Best if I watch our backs". Percy nodded uneasily and walked into the green.

It was hard to describe what Percy felt. First he felt like he was in a violent water current being ripped around. Them he felt like a strong wind was hitting him straight on. The whole time he heard whispers, right next to his ear. Around him he saw green light everywhere, as well as wisps of green smoke that vaguely took the shape of people. A few moments later Percy landed face first into dirt. He pushed himself to his knees and spit out specks of dirt that had found their way into his mouth. He looked around to see Nazir and the other guard looking around, weapons drawn. He heard another _woosh_ and saw the other guard appear behind him, though he landed on his feet.

Percy got up and looked around him. What he saw was stunning. Tall trees, with brown trunks and luscious green leaves were everywhere. Vibrant green grass ran along side small hills. Silvery boulders and rocks peppered the landscape. Percy saw a few deer, with clean brown coats and pristine white underbellies drinking from a crystal clear blue pond. In the distance Percy saw what looked to be a destroyed white marble structure partially covered with green moss. Percy also saw a small clear blue stream to his left. In front of him the dirt path, lit by torches, snaked through the landscape. The sun was setting behind them.

"It's beautiful. Where are we?" Percy asked quietly.

"The Forgotten Forest. Don't let its looks deceive you Jackson, especially since the sun is setting. Stay close and stay on the path" Nazir commented while scanning the area, sword still in hand.

"And no matter what you see in the trees, do not go off the path".

Percy shivered a little bit, recognizing how Nazir sounded eerily similar to Grimwald. Nazir started to walk along the path and the others followed, weapons in hand, constantly scanning the surrounding forest. As it got darker, Percy started seeing movement out of the corners of his eyes, though from what he couldn't tell. They continued to walk until it was completely black out. By this time the movement in the trees had intensified, but Percy still couldn't identify what it was coming from. Soon the path opened up into a circular clearing, about a fifty feet in diameter, where a large fire was roaring in the center. Seeming a little relieved, Nazir walked up to the fire and opened a small chest that was next to it. He pulled out a small leather bag and turned to Percy.

"Having now won your first fight, you are no longer a welp. As such you will be given your mark" Nazir said, looking around them somewhat nervously.

"My mark?" Percy replied curiously.

"Yes. Every combatant who has won gets one".

Percy thought about that for a moment. "Then how come I haven't seen a mark on Grimwald or Wallace or anyone else?"

"You might've thought it to be a tattoo, or maybe you just didn't notice it. They also can be hidden under clothes. The spot where the powder is placed isn't necessarily where the mark appears".

Percy nodded, deciding not to question further. "Alright, so what do I do?".

Nazir opened the leather pouch he was holding and revealed a hand full of black powder. "I will put this on your arm, and you will place your arm over the fire. It will not feel good. The mark you receive will be unique to you, and the symbol can be anything, but it will reveal something about you that you don't know".

Percy nodded and outstretched his right arm, moving Riptide to his left hand. Nazir sprinkled the powder over Percy's forearm, which was covered in a thin layer of nervous sweat. The powder felt cold to the touch of his bare skin. Once Nazir was done, Percy walked up to the fire. He was about to place his arm in the fire when Nazir spoke up from behind him.

"Put away your sword Jackson, and no matter what you may see, don't leave this circle".

Percy capped Riptide and placed the pen in his pocket. He felt an uneasiness grow in his stomach. _What the hell am I going to see?_ He thought nervously as he contemplated sticking his arm in the flame. He decided to get it over with. He walked right up to the fire and placed him arm in the top of the flame.

It was difficult to describe what Percy felt. His whole body was overtaken by a cool burning sensation. The best way it could be described was something similar to frostburn. Percy's eyes glazed over and everything went a bit blurry, yet at the same time the whole world appeared to Percy with outstanding vibrancy and detail. His whole body was in pain, but he couldn't retch over even if he wanted to. He turned his head to look at the others but only saw dark blurs standing about six feet tall. Percy figured that was them. Percy then felt a burning sensation taking over his arm. It felt as if something was being carved into his skin. Percy looked around into the forest line. He saw blurry movement from bipedal creatures. He heard Nazir's distorted voice behind him shouting nervous orders. Percy ignored it and continued to scan the forest line until he eyes came upon something that made his breath hitch and eyes widen.

 _Annabeth._

Percy saw her, as real as ever. She was wearing a orange camp half blood t shirt to go with light blue skinny jeans. She was wearing white converse shoes and wore her beaded camp necklace around her neck. Her hair fell across her shoulders, straight at the top but slowly curling once it reached her shoulders. Her silver eyes were fiery and alive as ever. She smiled as Percy and waved.

Percy gasped, the pain still coursing through his body. He saw dark movement behind Annabeth but ignored it. He tried to pull his arm from the fire but it was like he was in chains. He still felt something carving into his forearm. He tried again, pulling with all his might. This time, he arm flew from the fire and stumbled forward a few steps, though his arm still felt like it was being worked on by a red hot knife. He started to stumbled toward Annabeth who wagged her finger in a _come here_ motion. Percy only moved faster. The rest of the world was a blur to him. He heard men shouting behind him and Nazir's voice faintly in the distance. He kept approaching Annabeth, getting closer and closer. She only got more beautiful. Percy felt a few tears in his eyes as he was only maybe fifteen feet away from her. She was leaning against a tree, smiling at Percy. The light from the fire was fading as Percy began to walk into darkness. He started to hear whispers, much louder than the ones from the portal, and he could make these ones out. They said things like _come_ and _follow_ and _you're almost there_. Percy was almost at Annabeth when he felt a large force hit him. He looked up dazed to see Nazir dragging him back, shouting. Percy looked and still saw Annabeth, though now she was frowning. The pain was still searing in Percy's arm, though the pain through his body had dissipated. Percy thrashed around, trying to break free of Nazir's grip.

Percy felt a fist hit him in the jaw. Percy's vision went blurry for a few moments and he tasted blood in his mouth. He felt another pair of hands grab onto him and drag him toward the fire. The pain in Percy's arm had subsided. He looked in front of him once more to see Annabeth, thought she had tears in her eyes. Percy felt tears in his eyes as well and looked in horror as a black hand placed itself on Annabeth's mouth. Percy saw a face appear behind Annabeth's shoulder. It was a horrible face. The best Percy could describe it was darth maul. It cocked its head at Percy and screamed, revealing yellow serrated teeth and a long, horrible light red tongue. It then pulled Annabeth into the black forest with lighting speed. Percy heard her scream, the exact same scream from the night of her murder. Percy wailed as well, only to receive another punch to the mouth. Percy lost consciousness.

* * *

Percy awoke to still be beside the fire. Nazir and the men were crouched beside him, looking into the forest, weapons drawn. Percy groaned and leaned on his arm, rubbing his head. He looked to his other arm to see what looked like a seven with an upside down omega symbol from the horizontal line painted onto his arm in inky black. Percy sat up and felt it with his other hand. It felt like a part of his skin. Percy looked up to Nazir, who watching the treeline.

"Come now, we must leave this place" he said, turning to look at Percy.

Percy looked to his arm "why did I get the greek symbol for fate?" He asked weakly, his voice hoarse.

"I don't know Jackson. It's meant to reveal something about you. But tell me, what did you see?"

"All we saw was you walking toward the woods, then the demonspawn making itself visible to us. He nearly had you" one of the guard commented, handing Percy a flagon filled with cool water. It was still night out, and Percy felt as though they were being watched.

Percy took a gulp, the cool water cascading down his throat. He wiped his chin and looked at Nazir. "I saw her".

"Who the hell is she Jackson?". Nazir asked.

"Annabeth." Percy responded quietly. He looked up and made eye contact with Nazir. "She was more real than you".

* * *

 _Hey guys, latency here. I wanted to thank everyone who has read and followed the story so far. I appreciate every one of you. As well, I got a question about Will Solace not being happy and cheery. This is because I wanted to keep from making up my own characters as much as possible. That is, I wanted the main characters to be already existing Percy Jackson characters. However, I did change some character traits, mainly with Will, to help better fit the story He's a more brooding person, though not a total sour puss. This story generally is a bit darker, so all the characters are a little less cheery than they would be in an actual PJ book. Thank you all for reading and I'll try to update as quickly as possible._


	7. Silver Like the Moon

**Silver Like the Moon**

Nico spurred his mount, hoping to instill a sense of urgency into the beast. Gripping the leather reins tightly, he wrapped them around his hands and pulled back toward his body. The horse rose its head and looked at Nico, carrying a look of worry in its dark eyes. Nico whipped the reins once, trying to get the beast to move forward. All it did was prace its front hooves around nervously. Nico sighed and looked toward Will. He returned his gaze and shrugged, baring a _oh well_ look on his face.

"He's nervous" Nico said, surveying the scene in front of him as he leaned forward and stroked the horse's mane. In front of them stood Camp Half-Blood, the cabins embedded into the landscape. Thalia's tree was next to them, it's long twisted branches reaching out toward the sky like crooked fingers illuminated in the full moon. Past the cabins stood the Big House. The attic window was dark, but the first floor windows cast out a dim yellow light onto the damp grass. However, Nico was more interested in what was on the right side of the Big House.

Silver tents. Twelve in all. Small fires blazed outside them, providing specs of light in the otherwise dark camp. Nico made out wolves, with silver fur that glistened in the fire, pacing around the camp, protecting their mistresses. Nico sighed and looked toward Will again. He handed him his holstered Stygian Iron sword that he had removed from his waist and slipped off the black leather gloves he had been wearing. He put both of them in his left hand and handed them to the man to his left, who went by the name of Chase. Chase was a son of Hermes who had taken up arms for Poseidon. He was a shorter man, standing around five foot eight, with short black hair cut in a buzz. He was a thin boy, and had just turned sixteen a few weeks ago. He wore light blue jeans and a Camp Half-Blood t shirt as an underlayer. On top of the regular clothing was a brown leather cuirass, the trident of Poseidon stitched roughly into the chestpiece. He wore no other armour, preferring to be lightweight. He carried no sword either. The only steel Chase bore was a small knife, with the imprint of a bear stitched into the black leather hilt. He had shown off the knife to the party earlier. Nico, Will and Jorah, the fourth and final member of their party, had admired the blade over a small fire while they shared Pepsi's and double stuffed Oreos.

"This was a gift from my mother. She's in the marines. I don't get to see her too often, but this is a cool knife" he had told them, twirling it around skillfully between his fingers.

He took Nico's gloves and put them in a black swiss army backpack that he had been carrying on his back. Will handed Nico back his sword, which Nico laced back around his waist, making sure the leather braids were tight enough.

"I don't like this" Chase said as he put the gloves in the backpack, eyes locked on the silver camp. "We're outnumbered. All of us are men. They don't like us".

"Hold your nerve Chase. My steel swings true, should we get into an… undesirable situation" Jorah jested back, pulling his steel out of his holster and showing off the blade. Jorah was a larger man, standing six foot three inches in all. He had brown hair that fell in chops over his matching brown eyes, which always held a look of bloodlust in their pupils. He himself was a son of Ares, and was always looking for a fight. Why he came along Nico had no idea. Nico had not wanted him along, but Will had convinced him otherwise.

"You can't trust the Hunters. You'll be happy to have him at your back when they attack us" Will had told Nico in the barracks while they had put on their armour and sharpened their swords.

"They won't attack us Solace" Nico had responded while strapping on his cuirass, annoyed by Will's stubbornness.

"Better safe than sorry though aye?" Will had said as he walked past Nico, one hand gripping his bow, the other clasped on Nico's shoulder. He had nodded at the boy in black and walked out of the tent to water their mounts. Nico had sighed and shaken his head while strapping his leather belt around his waist, making sure the holster for his sword was firmly attached.

"We're not looking for a fight Jorah" Nico said cooly, keeping his gaze on the Hunter's camp. He then turned his gaze toward Jorah, making eye contact with him. "You follow my lead, and no matter what they say, do not be the first one to attack. We don't need to give them another reason to hate us".

Jorah nodded in reply, though he didn't seem to happy about it. He spat to his right and spurred his mount forward a few steps. He turned back to Nico. "Well, are we moving or not?" he asked impatiently. Nico stared at the camp for a few more seconds, nodded and reached into his pack hanging from the side of his saddle. He pulled out a plain white flag and handed it to Will. Will, who was holding a long wooden pole in his right hand, attached the banner to the pole and held it high for the world to see.

 _Hopefully the banner of peace stays their hate_ Nico thought to himself. He gave his reins a hard whip. This time, his horse moved forward in a gallop. The other men followed as they passed through the magical barrier surrounding the camp. Nico felt the cool spring air blowing in his face as he raced down the hill. It cut through his hair and threw black strands of it across his eyes. Looking toward the camp, he saw an outline in the camp look towards them, then quickly rush inside the largest tent. Moments later, four figures exited the tent. As Nico approached, he saw the silver of their gear glistening in the moonlight. Each of them had a bow in hand with a quiver full of silver arrows slung across their backs, though none of them had an arrow notched. Nico noticed a few lights from different cabins flicker on and saw black silhouettes at the windows, pointing and whispering nervously to each other.

They were right on the camp's perimeter now. Nico heard the growling of the wolves as their party approached. Their horses whinnied nervously at the sight and sound of the silver furred canines. Nico stopped at the edge of the first tent, pulling the reins back and grimacing as his horse started to dance around in fear. He stroked and patted the beast's mane, trying to calm it down. The horse continued to whine but turned its ballad of fear into a slow dance. Nico dismounted from his steed and handed the reins to Will, who had held his right flank the entire descent.

"Jorah, stay here and keep the horses in line" Nico said as he checked his horse's saddle. "I need to be with you" Jorah responded curtly, to which Nico responded with a palm raised in the air in a _stop talking_ motion. "I understand your fear swordsman, but you are the strongest one here".

"Which is why you need me to be in that camp with you!" Jorah responded angrily. Will and Chase dismounted, holding their reins up to Jorah for him to take. The wolves from the camp had slowly approached them and were now a mere fifteen feet away. They laid low to the ground, baring their fangs and growling, ready to attack. The horses continued to whine and dance, now with more intensity. Will and Chase struggled to hold onto their mounts, but Jorah kept a death iron grip on his reins, his focus on Nico.

"No godsdamnit! I need you to watch the horses Jorah! They're nervous as it is. You're the only one who can keep them subdued" Nico said, pointing toward the horses. Jorah made a sound something between a sigh and a growl, and with a "fine" he took the reins and guided the mounts away from the campline. Nico sighed and looked to Will and then Chase, making eye contact with both of them, exchanging looks of concern and weariness. Nico looked ahead to see the wolves still growling, saliva covered fangs glistening in the pale moonlight. The beasts started to slowly approach them, and Nico put his hand on the hilt of his sword. This only made the wolves growl louder. They continued to approach, six in all, bearing murderous looks in their eyes. Nico felt sweat trickling down his abdomen under his cuirass.

 _Damnit Nico, you only made them more angry._

The wolves were soon within ten feet of them. Nico was about to unsheathe his sword and prepare for combat when he read a loud whistle rip through the damp night air. The wolves' ears perked up and they turned their heads back toward the camp. They shot Nico and his men one final chorus of death stares and then started walking toward the center of the camp. Nico looked to Will uneasily and released his grip on the hilt of his sword. He started to walk into the camp, sidestepping to the left of a silver tent and then zigzagging past another. They walked slowly and carefully. As they made their way to the center of the camp, they began to see them. Hunters, aged anywhere from twelve to sixteen stood outside their tents, many of them bearing looks more dangerous than the ones the wolves had given Nico. He made sure Will has holding the peace banner in his hand, which he was, holding the pole high in the sky for the entirety of the camp to see, though it didn't give Nico much reassurance.

 _Chase was right. I underestimated their hate for men_ Nico thought nervously, though he didn't let his anxiety show. Or so he tried. He knew weakness here would only hurt their chances of successful negotiations, and more importantly, preventing the remaining campers from being dragged into the war. Nico continued to approach the center of the camp until he hit a small clearing. Here the four figures that he had seen earlier remained, though the wolves had returned to their sides. Nico didn't recognize any of the hunters except for one. The one who had been there the night his sister had joined their ranks.

 _Thalia_.

She stood tall and proud like a commander would. She still had her spiky black hair and electric blue eyes. She was a menacing sight, but Nico continued to approach. He couldn't recall the last time he had seen her. The wolves began to growl once more, but Thalia snapped her fingers and they were silenced. Nico stopped a few feet away from them, Will and Chase flanking either side of him. Nico locked eyes with Thalia. Unlike the fellow hunters around her, her eyes weren't consumed with hate. They looked at each other for a few moments, trying to read each other's facial expressions.

"Hey Nico" Thalia carved into the silence, signaling that she had given up with trying to communicate through facial expressions.

"Hey Thalia" Nico responded. He shuffled his feet and looked around. A few hunters were staring at them from their various tents, angered by Nico's presence.

"I assume you're here to talk about the war?" Thalia asked.

"No. I'm here to talk about peace".

Thalia looked at her other hunters. There were a few raised eyebrows.

"And why should we talk to you, male?" One of the hunters said curtishly. She looked to be fourteen, with green eyes and long black hair. She was pretty, to be sure. Most hunters were.

"You should be more respectful when talking to a diplomatic envoy" Will shot back, making eye contact with the hunter with a hard gaze.

"You don't speak unless spoken to, male" another one of the hunters snarled. She looked to be a bit younger than the other. She had similarly long black hair, though it contrasted with a pair of brown eyes rather than green.

"I'll speak whenever I damn well please" Will responded cooly. Nico could see that all three of the hunters beside Thalia were clenching their bows so tightly that their knuckles had turned white.

"Enough! We didn't come here to throw insults at each other!" Nico said, raising his voice, though not quite shouting. "This is for the sake of the camp, not just us" he continued, making eye contact with Thalia. She nodded in response. "You're right. Come Nico" she said, beckoning toward the tent behind her.

Will stepped forward a foot. "We're going with him".

"No you're not" the green eyes hunter shot back.

"If you think I'm going to-"

"Will" Nico cut him off, grabbing his arm and looking him in the eyes. "I'll be fine". Will, in a manner that reminded Nico of Jorah, made a noise between a growl and a sigh and said "they're going to kill you".

"Thalia won't. She's my friend".

"No one in this camp is our friend". Will pulled away from Nico's grip and grabbed Chase by the arm and started walking toward the perimeter. Before he was out of sight he turned and pointed at the hunters.

"If I hear so much as an arrow drawn…" Will said, beckoning to the bow slung over his back. He stabbed the peace banner into the damp grass, letting the plain white flag sag to the side of the pole. There was no wind to glorify symbolism. Will and Chase marched out of the camp. Nico turned back and looked to Thalia. She nodded and looked to her hunters. They looked back, giving her uneasy looks. The brown eyes one even started to protest, saying "but", only to be cut off by a raised hand from Thalia. They nodded, clearly not happy about it. They shot Nico murderous looks and walked away, until it was just Nico and Thalia. She gave Nico a small smile and turned to walk into the tent. Nico followed wearily. He ducked under the tent flap and entered.

Nico saw a cozy fire dancing in the middle of the tent. The top of the tent was open as to let the smoke out. The whole thing was like a tepee. There were animal furs along the ground, mainly from deer, though it wasn't the flooring that had Nico uneasy. At the other end of the fire sat a girl that looked to be around sixteen. She had blonde hair that was pulled back into a ponytail and sat with her legs crossed and palms on her knees. Nico felt a jolt of adrenaline go through his body.

 _It can't be… not here…_

"Lady Artemis?" Nico asked quietly, still not processing that it was actually her.

"Nico DiAngelo" she responded without emotion. "It has been a while since we last met. Come and sit. We have much to discuss". Her eyes had been closed, but she now opened them, revealing a beautiful yet intimidating set of silver eyes. Silver like the pakra she was wearing. Silver like the wolves' fur. Silver like the moon.


	8. Fear

**Fear**

The mess hall was quiet, basked in a dim glow from the torches that hung from the stone walls. The room smelled of cold and moss. There was also a stench of stale ale, no doubt the remnants of the dinner Percy had shared with the other combatants in his honor. The loud laughter and temporary feelings of contentment that had once vibrated through the hall had left. Now tense and fearful silence ruled. Percy was seated on one of the wooden benches, leaning over and looking down at the floor. He didn't truly know what to think about what had happened to him. He was still dazed. What he had seen had rattled him to the core. He was still shivering slightly. Only after basking in the silence was Percy able to fully realize how closely he had been to death. The confidence that had warmed his bones only hours earlier was gone. He felt weak and vulnerable. Even violated. _That monster had me in its tharls. I'm so weak…._

Looking to his side, he saw the guards who had accompanied him into the forest sitting a few feet down the bench. They looked as dismayed as Percy did, which only made him more afraid. _They're suppose to have done this many times… why are they so shocked?_ Percy knew the answer wouldn't be good. One of the guards broke his gaze from his nervous twiddling thumbs and looked to Percy's eyes. He gave a small smile and a nod of encouragement, but Percy could tell it was as much for the guard as it was for him. He had introduced himself to Percy as Jon earlier. He was an older man, with a thick white beard that covered his neck and a bald head speckled with liver spots. Despite his age, his arms were huge, and Percy had seen his sword work down in the training area. He was second only to Nazir on the Onyx side of The Arena in terms of authority, but pride was not Jon's forte. He did not laugh loudly when the mess hall teemed with drunkenness. He did not share stories of his past victories, of lovers lost to time or of heroic adventures, though he had had many to tell. He only sipped his ale slowly, watching the combatants, doing his duty.

The thick silence was cut by the sound of footfall, and a few moments later Nazir emerged from one of the many dark doorways, bearing a hard face. In his hand was a wooden mug with steam slowly coming off the top. He sat himself beside Percy and handed him the cup. Percy took it with both hands and looked at the murky reflection of himself in the syrupy red wine. Percy could smell a hint of cinnamon, and he also saw a star anise floating lazily through the drink.

"Mulled wine" Nazir said flatly. "Drink".

Percy put the cup to his lips and took a small sip. He tasted the sourness of the wine intertwined with the sweet kiss of cinnamon. It was delicious. It sent warmth through his body and allowed him to relax a little. Percy took another small drink and looked to Nazir, who shot him an encouraging look.

"Don't feel ashamed Jackson" Nazir said calmly. "What clouded your vision was not what we normally see when the ritual is performed". His eyes held a look of deep worry, though Nazir did a good job on not letting that worry overtake his physical stature. He sat composed and proud, not letting the events of the past few hours rattle him. Percy envied his strength, yet he fed off his confidence as well.

"What do you mean it wasn't _normal?"_ Percy said, finding his voice. He said the last word more quietly than the rest.

"Normally only a lesser spirit attempts to attach itself to whoever is doing the ritual" Jon spoke up in his weary voice. "But that thing…" Jon stopped, the fear and tiredness evident in his eyes. This only allowed the fear to creep back into Percy's body. He felt it twisting around his bones, grasping ahold of his heart and weakening his resolve. He took another sip of the wine, but the warmth wasn't as effective this time around. Percy had only a small cup of confidence. The fear permeated throughout the entire room, seeping into the stone walls.

"What tried to lure you into the Forest was a Fire Wraith" Nazir continued. "They're incredibly power monsters, and very rare. In fact, that last time we saw one…" He stopped at the last part, breaking eye contact with Percy to look around the empty hall.

"Was fifteen years ago" Jon finished for Nazir. Nazir turned to look at Jon, and they exchanged a long, hard look. _They must know something I don't…_ Percy thought.

"I must send a raven" Nazir said as he stood up. He placed a hand on Percy's shoulder. "Rest now Jackson. More is sure to come". With that, Nazir turned around quickly and walked toward the guard's quarters, his hand clenching his sword hilt as he walked.

The guard beside Jon sighed and stood up. He nodded at Percy and Jon, then followed in Nazir's footsteps out of the mess hall. Percy took large gulps of his wine now. Within seconds he had finished the entire mug, leaving his throat searing hot. He wiped his lips, which were wet with wine, and looked to Jon. Jon gave Percy another small smile and stood.

"Everything will be alright Jackson" Jon said, though it didn't sound like he believed his own words. "Go get your rest and continue your training. The King isn't getting any weaker". He took his leave of Percy, leaving him alone in the dimly lit hall. Feeling vulnerable, Percy stood and walked to the sleeping quarters. He passed stone statues of past combatants glorified for eternity in stone. Grimwald had told them some of their names. Taylor the Seductress. Benjen the Furious. Alfred Coldhand. All glorious combatants from days past who had ascended through the ranks of team Onyx to achieve ultimate glory. Their stone eyes seemed to follow Percy as he walked down the hall. _Maybe they're sizing me up_ Percy laughed mentally, though he didn't find the thought funny.

Soon Percy found himself sleeping on his pile of hay and fur. It was a crude bed, and had been since the day he had came into The Arena. Yet Percy found comfort in the prickly hay and musty smell, in the snoring of the other combatants and their sleepy murmuring. Percy felt something he hadn't felt since Annabeth had died, even though it was only the slightest of feelings. He felt like he was home.

 _Hey guys, I want to apologize for taking so long to update, as well as for the short chapter. With life and a lack of initiative taking over me these past few weeks, I've found it hard to find the time to work on this story. I appreciate every single follow, favorite, and review that I get. Seriously, it means a lot to me. This story has also gotten WAY bigger than I originally intended for it to be, so I've had to work out a LOT of details and plot devices to help get to where I wanted to go, as well as choose which PJO characters I wanted to integrate the most and how many OCs to use. This story will have a LOT of OCs, as well as a lot of OC backstory and lore, but most of the main characters will be actual PJO characters, and they will mostly have the same personality traits they do in the actual books (Will Solace is an exception). However, I've made good progress and have a clear sense of where to go next. Expect new perspectives to come from different characters, as so far it has only been Percy and Nico. Thank you all for your patience and support and positive reviews. I write for you all as much as I do for myself._

 _P.S. - Expect chapters to be longer. I would like for each chapter to be around 5,000 words._


	9. The Song of Sorrow

**The Song of Sorrow**

Nico was finding it hard to appear intimidating when his audience consisted of the Moon Goddess and Thalia. Artemis had asked him to state why he had came, though Nico was sure she already knew. He could feel her sizing him up as he talked, testing his way with words and intellect. He had changed quite a bit since she had seen him the cold winter night many moons ago. Back then he had played Mythomagic. Now he played the game of war. He had developed more confidence, muscle, and pride, though all three of those things felt smaller whenever he looked into Artemis's brilliant silver eyes. They reminded him of summer nights he would spend with Will gazing up at the stars before the war. Those nights the moon would shine vividly onto the world, painting it a slight tint of silver. Though the top of the tent was open to the heavens, Nico need not look to the sky to see the moon's brilliance. It was in Artemis's eyes. They carried all the power and glory of the celestial object. Whenever he lost his nerve, he would turn his gaze to Thalia momentarily, whose face was much more encouraging yet intimidating all the same. They were both dressed in silver clad, the color of their hair beings a differing factor. Artemis had vibrant blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, while Thalia still had her spiky black hair. Thalia's electric blue eyes didn't carry as much power as the silver ones of Artemis, though they had a great power of their own. Both of them were beautiful, proud women, though Nico was immune to a woman's charms. He thanked the Gods for that. _Poseidon was wise to send me_ Nico found himself thinking as he explained his diplomatic mission. _Other men might gaze into their eyes for too long, and get lost in them forever._

Once he was done addressing the goddess, the tent was silent for a moment. It was clear Artemis was deep in thought. She looked at the boy in black with what appeared to be a whisk of sympathy in what was otherwise a sea of silver apathy.

"Your are brave to come here, Nico DiAngelo, but unwise" she said cooly, her eyes drilling into his face.

"I understood the risks, but I believed you would hear the plea of peace" Nico responded, trying to match the composure of Artemis's voice. His voice came out calm yet carried a hint of uncertainty.

"Then let me hear your plea" Artemis responded curtly. Her tone carried an imperiousness to it that made Nico's blood boil. It took all his will to keep himself from responding with a rude remark.

"Leave Camp-Half Blood. Tell the Amazons to leave New Rome. If a demigod within the camp wishes to join the war, they may leave and choose their side. But this recruitment of demigods is unacceptable".

"You have a point, boy" Artemis responded quickly with a tone of indifference. "Do not think I haven't thought of the repercussions of bringing my mortal relatives into this war. But I have seen many wars, and this one carries an importance to it that the others lacked".

Nico found himself leaning in slightly. He had returned his eye contact and was determined not to break the gaze. He could feel himself losing.

"What type of importance?" Nico asked with a genuine but cautious curiosity. _I don't like where this is going…_

Artemis leaned back a bit, still keeping her legs crossed. She raised one of her arms off of her knee and waved it across the tent. "Look around you boy. I am the leader of the Hunters. I am a maiden goddess. I devote myself to protecting women from the treachery of men".

"This I understand" Nico responded.

"Then you understand why I must bring Percy to justice. Such a disgusting act of violence cannot go unpunished".

"I agree".

"And yet it was you who took Percy to the Arena so he may escape justice".

"I did it because he's innocent".

Artemis narrowed her eyes. "What brings you to that conclusion?"

"Because he's Percy bloody Jackson! He's saved the world twice, you don't think that maybe someone wants him framed!?". Nico realized he had risen his voice. He was losing his patience. Thalia shot him a nervous glance.

"No monster remains that is powerful enough to exert that much of an influence on Percy Jackson" Artemis responded bluntly.

"We don't know that" Nico responded, though Artemis had him there. There was no monster that the Olympians knew of that could influence Percy to such a degree.

"Perhaps you're right. Perhaps by some slim chance Percy Jackson is innocent. However, someone needs to be brought to justice, and it is clear to us that Percy committed the crime".

To that Nico could not argue. Someone needed to pay for this crime, though he knew this someone was not Percy Jackson. From the direction of their negotiations however, Nico could tell he could not convince Artemis of this.

"If you wanted justice, you would not have rushed to have Percy captured. You might have waited at least".

"Perhaps we would have if you didn't run away with him. Why would an innocent man run from justice?" Artemis asked apathetically.

"Because you weren't justice!" Nico said, his anger having finally boiled over. "You were the executioner!".

"You would be wise to watch your tone, boy" Artemis responded coldly. "Bring Percy Jackson to Olympus where a trial may be conducted. If you do this, we will stop the war".

"He searches for his own justice in the Arena" Nico responded angrily, his emotions still exerting their control over him.

"He doesn't have the right to search for his own-"

"You don't have the right to claim you represent justice only to be the executioner!" Nico said, cutting off the goddess before she could finish her sentence. "Let Percy fight in the Arena. If he emerges from the Arena, then we know he is innocent. If not, then we know he was guilty".

Percy Jackson can't fight his way out of this" Artemis responded darkly, clearly upset with the boy. It was now Nico realized the futility of these negotiations. _She will never consider what I am saying_ he found himself thinking. _All because I was born a boy._ He decided to bring an end the negotiations.

"You're right" Nico said, his voice finally matching the coolness of the goddess's. Nico rose. "We'll fight for him". Without further statement, Nico spun around and left the tent, ending the negotiations and leaving the goddess without a proper goodbye. He found that his hand was gripping the hilt of his sword tightly, though he had no intention of using it. He felt anger coursing through his body. _Peace be damned_ he thought. _I will have none of this madness._

Nico exited the tent, the damp spring air greeting his skin once again. Despite the coming summer he found every exhale of his leaving a wisp of milky white steam. Had it gotten colder? Nico wasn't sure. As he walked out of the camp, he saw a few of the hunters staring him down out of his peripheral. He did not need to look at them directly to see the hate that filled their eyes. He had disrespected their goddess and given them even more reason to hate men. Nico could care less what they thought. _Confront me_ he challenged them mentally. _See what happens_. He walked by the brown wooden pole Will had stabbed into the Earth earlier. The white banner did not flap gallantly in the wind. Rather, it hung limp, knowing that it had no power here.

Nico grabbed the pole with his right hand and gave it a hard upward tug. He heard the damp soil loosening, yet the Earth resisted his efforts, not letting go of the splinter in its flesh. Nico gave it a harder tug, yet it still did not raise from the Earth. Nico felt his face getting hot, as much from anger as embarrassment. He still felt the eyes of the hunters carving into his back. He even heard a few snickers and whispers. He could not hear what they said, but he knew they were in jest.

Nico allowed his rage to take over. In one quick motion, he unsheathed his sword, hearing the stygian iron sliding against the boiled leather holster. The sound rang sharp in the night, and the whispering was replaced with a tense and dreadful silence. With both hands glued to the hilt, Nico swung the sword with all the force he could muster, and with a CRACK iron met wood. The pole cut in half as if it were butter. Small wooden splinters scattered as the top half of the pole fell to the ground. The banner danced in the wind for a moment, trying to make its final moments memorable before hitting the ground. Nico looked down at the wretched thing. Its purity was lost. For good measure Nico stepped on the banner in one last act of defiance. It was no longer a pristine white. Now interlaced with the white was brown mud from the bottom of Nico's shoe.

Breathing heavily, Nico heard the sound of footfall behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and gripped his sword as tightly as possible, preparing for a fight. His head was lowered. _Killed because of peace banner_ he thought bitterly. _The irony_.

The footfall stopped a few feet behind him. Nico felt his body tense up, his heart racing and adrenaline coursing through his veins, preparing him for one last fight. "Nico, put the sword away" he heard Thalia say softly behind him. He turned slowly and opened his eyes to see Thalia standing a few feet away from him, bearing a look of concern. Looking behind her, Nico could see where the concern came from. About twenty feet behind her stood four hunters, silver bows taught with silver arrows that gleamed in the moonlight, pointed right at him. Their faces were hard and emotionless, but their eyes told a different story. They were filled with excitement, anxious at the opportunity to kill the hotheaded, disrespectful boy who had unsheathed his sword in their camp and disrespected their goddess. Despite his disdain for them, Nico couldn't blame them.

 _I made it clear I don't want peace, and so are they_ he thought solemnly. He still felt the adrenaline running through his veins, screaming as him to fight, but the look in Thalia's eyes made him think otherwise. They were filled with a concerned urgency, silently pleading at him to stand down. Nico took a deep exhale and looked once more at the ground, and slowly sheathed his sword back into its holster. He looked back at Thalia and she gave him a small smile.

"Come on Nico, it's time to get you out of here" she said, taking his hand and guiding him through a sea of silver tents, wolves, and hunters. Everything was so silver, Nico's all black garb stuck out like a sore thumb. He heard more whispering as they walked, interlaced with the occasional growl from a wolf. Soon after they were outside of the borders of the hunter camp. Nico felt his shoulders slump in relief. He had not realized how tense he had been.

Thalia let out a sigh of relief as well and turned to face Nico and let go of his hand. They were standing in the open field now. The cabins were a few hundred feet to their the southeast. Most of their lights had gone out, but a few remained on, black silhouettes of nervous demigods visible in the cabin windows. Thalia's tree stood tall on top of the hill risen behind her. Looking at the tree and back at her, Nico shivered. _From the cold_ he told himself.

"What were you _thinking_?" Thalia said in an urgent whisper, grabbing hold of Nico's wrist and squeezing tightly.

"You know Percy's innocent Thalia" Nico said, traces of anger still in his voice. "How can you expect me to sit there and listen to those lies and not get angry!? He's your friend too!" he said, his brown eyes drilling into her blue ones.

"I know Nico. I don't want to believe it either, but you can't prove that-"

"Come on Thalia! He loved Annabeth more than anything else in this world!" he said, surprised by the slight bitterness in his voice. "He wouldn't do something like that!".

"Then how did Annabeth die, Nico? Percy was the only one with her that night, and she didn't kill herself!" Thalia responded, raising her voice.

"Maybe he was possessed! The same thing happened to Leo in New Rome and a war almost started because of it! It's the same thing here!"

"Nico, the camp borders are stronger than ever! There's also been an all time low in monster activity this past year! There's nothing left that's powerful enough to exert that much of an influence on Percy, especially in the camp borders!" she responded angrily.

"Well maybe there's something and we just don't know about it!" Nico shouted desperately, though he knew Thalia had him checkmated the same way Artemis had. It was true. Kronos and Gaea were both subdued. No monster, mortal, or immortal could do that to Percy, especially within the boundaries of the camp.

"Nico, you can't say Percy's innocent because of some "what if"! Annabeth's dead, and someone has to pay!". Nico hadn't realized it, but tears were streaming down Thalia's cheeks, her electric blue eyes singing the song of sorrow. Nico felt his own emotions come pounding on his rib cage, wanting to be let out. Anger. Fear. Sorrow.

"Come on Thalia, you're suppose to be the tough one. Why are you crying?" Nico said, struggling to get the words out without his voice cracking, feeling a few stray tears of his own cascade down his cheeks. Thalia made a noise that sounded like a hybrid between a laugh and a sob and lowered her head while placing her hand on her face, covering her eyes.

"GODSDAMNIT!" Nico shouted. His emotions had rushed out of him and greeted the cool night air like an old friend. He put his hand on his mouth and looked to the ground, trying to get a hold of himself, but his grief had taken hold. He raised his head and looked Thalia in her electric blue eyes which held so much pain. Not a moment later, they rushed toward each other, embracing each other in a tight hug.

They held onto each other for what felt like an eternity. Nico shook his head as he held on, not wanting to let go. He noticed they were rocking back and forth slightly.

"I don't want to have to fight you Thalia" Nico whispered emotionally, still holding the huntress tight in his arms. "But if something doesn't change, there will come a day when I see you on the other side of the battlefield".

Thalia took a deep, shaky breath and slowly let go of Nico. She took a step back and wiped her eyes. She made eye contact with Nico and managed a brave smile, though her eyes were still filled with sadness.

"We're not going to fight each other Nico" she said with as much confidence as she could muster. Nico nodded and realized he had to try and protect the camp. _I failed Poseidon in the negotiations_ he thought. _I can't fail the campers._

"Look, tell Artemis that if any of the campers want to join the war, they can. They can choose either side. But the camps have to remain a safe haven. They have to be off limits. We can't let our family die Thalia. Promise me you'll try to convince her". When she initially didn't respond, Nico followed it up with another "Promise me!", this time with more urgency, though still keeping his voice soft and at a whisper.

She nodded. "I promise" she said with some real confidence. Nico nodded and looked around. The moon was lowering. It would be dawn soon. "I must leave" Nico said. "We will see each other again. Stay safe Thalia".

"You too" she returned the courtesy. Nico nodded and turned his back, and the two began the walk back to their separate sides. After a minute of silent marching, Nico risked a glance behind him and saw Thalia rejoining the hunter camp, becoming another outline in the sea silver.

Nico looked back to the hill and continued to walk. The light of the moon glazed over the camp, filling him with a sense of despair. _Artemis will only leave if she wants to, and I fear she won't_ Nico thought as he moved to the hill. At the top of the hill he could see the outlines of Will, Jorah, and Chase, as well as their mounts. He could sense their uneasiness from here. He realized they had most likely been watching him and Thalia the whole time, though Nico felt no shame. _She's not the enemy. She's my friend_ he reminded himself as he continued his walk toward the hill. He was nearly at the base of the hill when he heard his name called in a whisper by another familiar female.

"Nico!".

Startled, Nico turned and was shocked to see the beauty queen herself, Piper McLean, standing a few feet away from him. He had not heard her approach, perhaps because he was too deep in thought. Nico turned fully to face her.

"Piper". Nico found himself at a loss for words. Piper walked up to Nico and they looked at each other for a few moments, each trying to make sure the other was really there. It had been many months since Nico had seen Piper. Last he had heard she was in New Rome with Jason. Her presence here was a pleasant surprise. She still possessed the incredible beauty he remembered her having, her kaleidoscope eyes seemingly changing color right before him. Her garb was simple: an orange camp half blood t shirt and black yoga pants. She was barefoot and looked like she had just gotten out of bed, as her chocolate brown hair was unbrushed, though she was still more beautiful than most girls after hours of preparation.

They embraced each other quickly, remaining in each other's grasps for a few moments. _I'm hugging everyone today_ Nico thought with stale humor as he let go of Piper.

"Did you just wake up?" Nico asked her as she brushed a few strands of loose hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, I heard you shout" she responded with a smile. Nico felt his face get hot from a mixture of embarrassment and shame.

"Oh. Was I really that loud?" He asked, making sure his voice was a whisper. Piper laughed in response. "Yeah you were" she responded back playfully. Soon their smiles faded however, and they were left to deal with the tension. Nico let loose a sigh and shuffled his feet.

"Nico, you could always stay here" Piper said softly, resting her hand on his forearm. _So this is why she sought me out_ he found himself thinking. _To keep me from fighting_. Nico looked around at the camp, considering her offer for a moment. Camp Half-Blood wasn't so bad a place. He had never felt welcome here, truth be told, being the son of death. Even with the Hunters however, there was a certain peace in the camp he didn't feel in the outside world. The strawberry fields and damp grass had not yet sung the song of war. _A horrible song it is_.

"I could have, but I made a choice Piper. I can't leave my men behind" Nico responded, beckoning to the outlines on the ridge. Looking back at them, Nico could see the outlines of their horses dancing nervously, his men stroking their manes and feeding them carrots in vain attempts to calm their nerves.

"They can stay too. Will use to be a part of the camp anyways" she replied, her voice still soft yet persuasive. Nico couldn't tell whether she was trying to use her charmspeak or not. He assumed Piper wasn't, but her charmspeak had become so powerful and ingrained in her voice that sometimes she did it without realizing it. Regardless he found himself listening to her offer. _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps war isn't for me._

Nico shook himself out of the sleep he was being lulled into and looked at Piper with conviction in his dark eyes. "I have to fight for Percy, Piper". Hearing his response, she lowered her head and sighed. Nico felt a pang of guilt for letting her down, but his conviction remained strong. He knew what he had to do.

"I'm sorry Piper" Nico said softly, allowing his hand to rest gently on her shoulder. He gave her a small smile, though she would not meet his eyes. He released his hand and turned his back, continuing his ascent toward his men. The darkness was breaking ever so slightly now. Soon the sun would peek out from the horizon, filling the world with its warmth once more.

"Have you ever thought about how your actions affect other people?" Piper asked with a sharpness in her voice. Nico paused but did not turn to look back at Piper. Instead he said his response while looking at the dirt.

"I am doing this for other people Piper".

"That's not what I mean and you know it. You hurt a lot of people when you ran away with Percy" she said, her voice sharp as a dagger. "You hurt Reyna. You hurt Jason, Frank, and Leo. You hurt me. You hurt Hazel".

To these accusations, Nico turned around to face Piper. She had crossed a line in mentioning his sister. Her eyes met his, filled with defiance and anger and fear. _So many emotions_ Nico thought. _So many colors in her eyes_.

"I know what I did, Piper" Nico said, his voice harder than it had been earlier. "I'm not perfect" he continued, pointing at himself by slapping his chest with his hands, slowly advancing toward Piper. He felt his anger returning "But I did what I thought was right, and yet all I get is criticism for it. What do you all want from me, Piper? What do you want!?". By now he was within a few feet of Piper, his voice and anger raised. Piper broke his gaze and looked to the ground.

"I want you to come home, so we can face this problem together. Like we have before" she said quietly to the dirt. Guilt washed over Nico. He felt ashamed for responding so aggressively to Piper. _She's terrified_ Nico realized. _Just like me._ Nico took a step back, subduing his aggression.

"Look Piper, I've done too much to go back now. You must realize that Camp Half-Blood might not remain safe. You need to think deeply about what you want to do". To this Nico got not response. Piper's gaze remained fixed on the damp grass. Needing some sort of closure, Nico reached into his pocket. "Here" he said, outstretching his hand. _I thought I would not use this_ he thought solemnly as he looked at the small black whistle in his palm. On the bottom of the metallic tongue was a small skull, a fitting sigil for the boy in black. He handed it to Piper, who had looked up and taken the whistle with cautious curiosity in her eyes.

"Whenever you're in danger, blow this whistle. I will come for you" he said. "It was meant to be for Hazel, but you're my friend too". Piper did not respond for a moment. She only looked into Nico's brown eyes with her kaleidoscope ones. He could no longer get a read on her emotions, which unnerved him. Eventually, she slid the whistle into her pocket.

"Stay safe Nico" she said quietly, concern evident in her voice. Nico only nodded in response. He turned his back to Piper, to Camp Half-Blood, to peace, and marched to war.

 _Well, got this update out within a week. Have to say I'm pretty satisfied, though I must admit that writing emotional scenes is still a weakness of mine, so writing some parts of this chapter was difficult, though overall I'm happy enough with how it turned out. Thanks again for the continued support. To answer the question of "will Percy get a new lover?", I'll say that he probably won't get another someone who is as important to him as Annabeth was, but his love life won't be the equivalent to a visit to the DMV either._


	10. Real Lions Like The Hunt

**Real Lions Like The Hunt**

The Forge of Lord Hephaestus was not known for its hospitality. However, on the rare occasions that the God of the Forge did receive guests, one could mistake his palace for one of the prettiest courts in the world. Nazir found himself seated in a copper chair at the end of a long copper table. Carved into the table was thousands of years of world history covered in a light layer of gold leaf: the conquests of Alexander the Great against the Persian Empire, the battle of the Olympians against the Titans, and the loss of Atlantis to the sea were all shrouded in gold, staring back at his grim reflection and bringing glory and beauty to the bloody past. Around Nazir stood large pillars of brass with olive branches etched into their metal which winded around the pillars and hugged them from behind as if they were a lost lover. In between the massive pillars was the sigil of the Lord of the Forge: orange banners, with black anvils and hammers stitched into their tapestry hung proudly from the walls. From the ceiling, massive metal chandeliers, which illuminated fluorescent light swayed gently, though there was no breeze. The floor was made of a clean white marble with black veins that carried inky blood throughout the court.

At the other end of the table sat the throne of the God himself. It was made of every metal Nazir could name, including the copper of the table, the brass of the pillars, the steel of swords, and so much more. It stood twenty feet tall and half as wide, with large armrests for its owner. At the top of the throne, sharp silver steel from swords pointed toward the ceiling, making for an intimidating sight. The thro looked like the most uncomfortable throne in the world. A dim red glow radiated from it, surely a searing touch to any mortal who dared to sit on it. Behind the throne were a few marble steps which led to large brass doors, marking the entrance to the forge itself. Nazir could hear the roaring fires and gushing lava from behind the doorway. Around him, animatronic men made of steel painted pale gold walked the hall, cleaning and standing guard. They made him feel uneasy. Their ruby, mechanical eyes would look at him lifelessly, asking him if they could be of any assistance in gravelly male voices. When Nazir would decline their courtesy, they would merely bow and walk off, though their strides were jerky and imperfect, powered by the grinding gears within their torso. Steam would shoot from their ears every so often, the white wisps dancing to the top of the chamber, slowly separating and disappearing into nothingness.

The somber beauty of the court could not rid the chamber of the overwhelming heat. Nazir found himself sweating profusely as he waited for the God to receive his audience. The table at which he sat was filled with a bouquet of delicious food: ripe blueberries and rye bread filled golden plates, accompanied by honeyed chicken covered in a cranberry glaze and basil. Nazir had torn off a leg of one of the chickens and ate it quickly, the warm glaze and juices rolling down his bristly chin. Lord Hephaestus had set a tasty table, that could not be denied. To the right of his plate, Nazir's goblet was filled to the brim with a red wine he had sipped slowly. It tasted of sweet grape and cinnamon, causing him to recall childhood memories that he quickly suppressed. He was cautious with the wine, making sure that drunkenness did not seduce him with its sweet charms before the God arrived.

After a few more minutes of silently waiting and sweating, the doors behind the throne creaked open. At first all Nazir could see was blue hot fire, dancing high into the sky and tickling the rocky belly of the forge ceiling with its thin and twisted fingers. He could feel the heat all the way from the other end of the hall. He shifted uncomfortably, wary of the potential of the fire spreading into the throne room. His fears were unfounded, for soon a massive silhouette emerged from the flames, and Lord Hephaestus entered the throne room. He was still as ugly as Nazir remembered, be it a cruel thing to say. He walked with a limp and had taken to using a large metallic crutch to help him walk with the pride the rest of his Olympian siblings did. He had a long and ugly face, covered in black soot and poorly kept facial hair, consisting of a long white beard which extended down to the top of his stomach, and long white whiskers that were a poor imitation of a mustache. Though what the Lord lacked in beauty he made up for in bronze. His muscles were huge, his biceps being nearly the size of Nazir himself. Despite his right leg being deformed and crippled, it was still packed with lean muscle. The God was dressed in a simple garb of loose fitting pants made of brown leather jerkin and a white t shirt, with a blacksmith's apron tied on top of the outfit. In his right hand was a massive black forge hammer, though if the black was the color of the steel or soot Nazir could not tell. The Lord simply dropped the hammer beside his throne with a thunderous CLANK and sat down slowly, sighing with relief once he was sat, outstretching his crippled leg and rubbing his thigh.

The Lord looked up to Nazir with his dark yet cordial eyes. He made his lips into what might of been a small smile, though Nazir could not tell due to the sea of facial hair.

"Nazir Armarea" he said in a thick, murky voice which cut through the hot air like a blade.

"Lord Hephaestus" Nazir returned the courtesy in a flat voice.

"How long has it been?" the God asked, scratching his beard.

"Nine years, my Lord" Nazir responded.

"Nine years. Too long of a time".

"Or not long enough, given the circumstances".

Hephaestus looked at Nazir curiously. "Aye, I suppose that's true, isn't it? Then you already know why you're here".

"Of course I know" Nazir said, a little more aggressively than he had meant to. He sighed and made it a point of emphasis to watch his tone. "I didn't just come here to feast and exchange pleasantries".

"Neither did I, though it would've made for a good time" Hephaestus replied, beckoning for one of his animatronic men to come next to him. The animatronic obeyed its master, walking clumsily to the throne. It was dwarfed by the size of the God once it reached the side of the throne. It outstretched its robotic hand, holding a small sliver of paper. Hephaestus did not take the note directly, for a finger of his was ten times the size of the scroll. Rather, he flicked his hand and the small scroll of parchment levitated to eye level of the God, looking like a mere fly in his presence. With another flick of the wrist, the scroll unraveled until it was rectangular in shape. Hephaestus looked at it inquisitively.

"You mentioned a Fire Wraith. You are sure that is what it was?".

"Aye. It went after Percy Jackson".

Hephaestus shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "This is... disturbing news. I thought we would have more time".

"Did you expect longer than fifteen years?".

Hephaestus scratched his beard. "I had my hopes" he spoke as if he were at a funeral.

"Well those hopes are gone. Something must been done" Nazir said, though he already knew what. Hephaestus gave Nazir an apologetic look.

"You know what I'm going to of ask you".

Nazir sighed. "And I don't know why you think it'll work".

"Your bloodline is one of nobility. Your family's history is weaved into mine as if it were tapestry. You are the only one I could ask".

"You could always go yourself" Nazir said bitterly. "He was one of yours, afterall."

The God's face darkened. "We are one in the same. It is impossible for me to defeat him. Besides, the army of the Arena will not follow me. They only will follow their King ".

"Army? I don't know if you recall but our _army_ is only a shell of what it was". Nazir broke eye contact with the God and decided to look at the suddenly interesting goblet of his, still filled with wine. "And I am not a King" he finished, looking at his unkingly reflection in the wine.

"But you are" Hephaestus continued. "Another King may have returned to the Arena, but he serves a different purpose, and rules no domain".

"My family stopped calling ourselves Kings long ago" Nazir responded.

"That may be, but you are a King in my eyes. So was your brother".

"And that didn't save him" Nazir said quietly.

A mix of guilt and sympathy washed over the God's face. "No, it did not, but that was a different time".

"But it's the same enemy!" Nazir said, louder than he had meant to. "My brother was twice the soldier I ever was, and his army more than twice the size of what I could muster now, and he lost! How am I supposed to succeed?".

"Your brother didn't lose Nazir".

"You consider victory buying us fifteen years of extra time? What has this fifteen years brought us besides more time to worry about the next time he returns?" Nazir asked with anger laced in every word.

"We underestimated him last time. This time we won't. You must try. If we do nothing we will have to fight him eventually, but with the entire world as the battlefield".

Nazir agreed to this, but all of his differences with the God had not been settled. "Why not rally the Olympians and face this foe together. Maybe if we told them…".

Hephaestus snorted. "They're too busy fighting each other, and the last thing they need is another reason to be angry. No, Nazir. We are on our own".

Nazir sighed and sat back in his seat, looking to the metallic chandeliers. They didn't look as eloquent anymore.

"How many men can you muster?" The God asked.

"9,000, at most. But I would be taking away fathers from their families and sons from their mothers".

"Better than having those entire families being slaughtered".

"I don't have the right to destroy their families! And the Arena already has a King!"

"Oh, hush up already!" Hephaestus snapped angrily. "You are their King, not the lion who makes a cage his home and waits for his next champion to kill. You have more of an importance than deciding whether or not a combatant in the Arena is innocent or not. Your actions may very well decide the fate of the world".

"The King serves a noble purpose, my Lord" Nazir replied cooly.

"And so will you". Hephaestus stood, struggling to get up and cursing in ancient Greek under his breath for looking weak. He leaned upon his crutch and beckoned for Nazir to follow with his right hand. "Follow" he commanded. He flicked his wrist once more and the large brass doors swung open, the blue fire dancing in excitement once catching another glance at Nazir.

"But the fire, my Lord" Nazir began wearily.

"Not to worry". The God flicked his wrist once more, and in a flash the fire had subsided to invisibility. Nazir stood, still on guard and worked his way to the doors. He noticed that his footsteps echoed, though they were a mere whisper to the thunderous footfall of the God. Nazir ascended the marble steps, the heat increasing as he neared the doors. _The fires may be gone, but their searing touch remains_ he noted in silence.

Once past the brass doors, Nazir gazed upon the Forge of Hephaestus, a place he knew few mortals had ever been. The ground beneath him changed from marble to volcanic rock. After a few more moments of walking he found himself standing at the edge of a cliff, the entire Forge sprawling out beneath him. Nazir was captivated like a child first exploring the world.

Nazir saw rivers of molten lava snaking through the bedrock, slipping under cliff faces or spilling into red syrupy lakes. On the cliff faces to his front, left and right hung the largest collection of shelves Nazir had even seen. There were too many of them to count, each cliff face possessing hundreds of shelves, each perhaps a mile in length. On the right cliff each shelf was made of a different metal, and laying on each shelf was an innumerable amount of metal ingots, made of the same metal as the shelf on which they lay. Nazir did not know there were so many metals in the world. Directly in front of him was an exorbitant amount of iron shelves which held not metal but every precious gem the world had ever known. Diamond, gold, silver, onyx, and emeralds were among the few things Nazir spotted. On the ground in the center of the entire hollow stood the forge itself. Nazir found himself surprised with its simplicity. He saw only a massive black anvil accompanied by the hammer Hephaestus had brought to the throne room, which had somehow made its way back to the forge. Next to the anvil was a massive stone hearth, filled with coals that burned a quiet orange. Around the hearth lay a large stone bench upon which a large pair of black tongs lay.

On the cliff face to his left were more shelves, also made of iron. These shelves held what Nazir assumed was a countless numbers of creations by the God. Nazir made out the blurry outline of more animatronic men, though these ones did not move. He saw what he assumed to be a car, something that resembled a plane, and a number of irregular objects whose functions were unknown to him.

"It's… big" Nazir said, astonished.

The God chuckled. "Yes, it is very big. But this is not what I came to show you". The God clapped his hands. Far in the distance, Nazir heard the groaning of gears. He looked to his front see two large bronze doors, embedded in the cliff face, grinding against the rocky floor as they creaked opened and created a whirlwind of dust. Nazir heard heavy footfall echoing across the forge. Squinting his eyes to gaze through the dust Nazir saw men made of silver steel with piercing orange eyes. It took him a few moments to realize that they were animatronic like their brethren in the dining hall. However, unlike their brothers, these automations walked smoothly. Seeing something synthetic look so organic gave Nazir an uneasy feeling. At first he reckoned there was only a few hundred of them, but that estimation soon faltered as the men continued to pour out of the doors.

 _By the Gods…_ Nazir thought in wonder.

There were ten lines of them, each line consisting of about fifty men. Their right arms were not arms at all but rather silver steel swords about thirty inches long which glistened even from such a far distance. Embodied on their metallic chest plates was the hammer and anvil of Hephaestus. When the first regiment of five hundred animatronics had made it through the door and onto the open rock, Nazir thought that it was the end of it, until he saw another regiment began its march through the doors.

Nazir couldn't tell how long he stood there, watching in astonishment as more soldiers poured through the doors. At the end of it all, Nazir counted ten regiments. Nazir looked on in wonder as they stood their, motionless. He turned slowly to face Hephaestus. Nazir had not realized it, but the God had shrunken down until he was the size of a normal man. He looked into Nazir's eyes with his dark ones, seeing the shock hidden within.

"You didn't think I wasn't going to help you?" he asked.

"How long did this take you?" Nazir asked in admiration, turning back to glance at the army.

"Fifteen years. They do not feel fear. They will not abandon you when all seems hopeless. They will follow their King to whatever end". Nazir still felt uneasy at being called a King. It made him recall history he would rather of left untouched. Though looking out at the metallic army and their orange eyes staring at them, Nazir knew he had no choice.

"I will lead my army, and yours, into the forest" he spoke in a deathly tone. _And I go to my death._

Hephaestus nodded grimly. "There is one more thing I must present to you." He snapped his fingers which was followed by the sound of footfall behind them. Nazir turned to see one of the animatronics from the throne room jerkily making its way to them, holding in its outstretched hands a black box. Upon reaching them, Hephaestus opened the box gently, anticipation weighing heavy on Nazir's shoulders.

After gazing into the box, Nazir recalled the stories his father had told him when he was a mere child, of the crown of the Arena Kings and how it was destroyed. His father would sit him on his lap next to the hearth fire, raising his voice whenever there was excitement to be found in the story and lowering it whenever times of sorrow confronted their ancestors. His father had made it clear the crown was gone from existence. Yet here it was, staring back at him eerily. It was made of a pale orange steel. The base of the crown was smooth, yet the top of it was jagged with dull stubby points extending from the steel like the fingers of a baby. Etched on the side of the crown was the history of the arena. Brave men wielding steel fought against whirlwinds of fire. Further along the perimeter of the crown, a hollow depiction of a city being consumed by the sea was shown. At the end of it all, a crown-less King led his bannermen into a forest. Nazir shivered.

"This crown has been lost for many generations" Nazir said quietly.

"And now it's here. By the Gods Nazir, kneel" Hephaestus said curtly, not willing to take no for an answer. Nazir fell to one knee, adrenaline coursing through his veins.

"Nazir Armarea, your family once called themselves Kings, only to stop many years ago. Now, in our hour of need, I restore your family name to its former glory, and name you King of the Arena". The God took the crown out of the box and with surprising grace placed it on Nazir's nearly bald head. The metal placed a cool kiss on his forehead and was surprisingly light. Nazir stood shakily. _This feels wrong_ he found himself thinking as he looked toward the forge once more. In one swift motion, the animatronic soldiers feel on one knee, lowering their head in respect for their new King.

"Remind me of your family's words" Hephaestus asked expectantly, already knowing the answer. Nazir turned to the God and looked him in his dark eyes.

"Real Lions Like the Hunt" he said as if he were reading an obituary. The God's eyes lit up.

"Then go out there and hunt".

 _If you're confused with all the OC stuff and the fact that there are now two Kings, don't worry. Things will start to make more sense as the story progresses._


End file.
